A new episode of violence with firearms has shaken the United States on Wednesday. A shooter has killed four people and has ended up committing suicide, according to the police, on the campus of the Sant Francis hospital, in Tulsa, in the State of Oklahoma. Around midnight on Wednesday, neither the identity nor the motivations of the aggressor, who came with a rifle and a pistol, had emerged. Police estimate that he was between 35 and 40 years old.
This new shooting comes just over a week after the massacre that cost the lives of 19 children and two teachers in the Texas town of Uvalde and 18 days after 10 people were murdered in a supermarket in Buffalo, in the State of New York. The shooting occurred on June 1 on the 101st anniversary of the Tulsa massacre.
“There are four people who have passed away, we have the shooter who is dead and we believe he committed suicide,” Tulsa Police Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish said. Richard Meulenberg, a police captain, initially said that it was a “disaster scene” and that police were checking the premises to see if there were more victims.
The police response has been very quick, according to the authorities. That may have prevented a larger number of victims. The police have arrived at the campus between three and four minutes after receiving a call alerting the shooting. Guided by the sound of gunshots, the police officers reached the second floor of the Natalie building, Dalgleish told reporters. Within five minutes, officers made contact with the victims and the suspect.
Television images and photographs showed dozens of emergency services vehicles dispatched to the scene.
UPDATE — we now have 5 dead, including the shooter, in the active shooter situation at the Natalie Building on the St. Francis Hospital Campus.
— Tulsa Police (@TulsaPolice) June 2, 2022
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Initially, the Tulsa police chief had tweeted that police were dealing with an “active shooter.” “Tulsa Police have responded to an active shooter incident near the [calle] 61 and Yale. Please stay clear of the area and yield to all emergency vehicles while we deal with the response. We will update the information to the media as soon as we can gather the details”, she has pointed out.
@TulsaPolice has responded to an active shooter incident near 61st & Yale. Please stay away from the area and yield to all emergency vehicles as we deal with this response. We will update the media as soon as we are able to gather details.
— Tulsa Police Department Chief Franklin (@TPD_Franklin) June 1, 2022
Asked if the police had reviewed and refreshed their shooting response protocols following criticism of the Uvalde police for their role in the primary school massacre, Dalgleish told Reuters: “I think that is probably fresh in everyone’s mind.” “I will say that Tulsa reviews that issue regularly. I am very pleased with what we know so far regarding the response from our officials,” he added.
The president of the United States, Joseph Biden, has been informed during the afternoon of this Wednesday of the shooting. White House sources have indicated that they are closely following the situation and that they have contacted state and local authorities to offer them support.
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