Four people have been confirmed dead after a gunman carrying a rifle and a handgun stormed a Tulsa medical centre in Oklahoma.
Gatekeepers News reports that the shooter also died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to Tulsa Police Department Deputy Chief Eric Dalgleish who confirmed the incident.
Dalgleish noted that it was unclear what prompted the deadly assault.
“It appears both weapons at one point or another were fired on the scene,” Dalgleish said. “The officers who arrived were hearing shots in the building, and that’s what led them to the second floor.”
Police responded to the call about three minutes after dispatchers received the report at 4:52 p.m. and made contact with the gunman roughly five minutes later, at 5:01 p.m, Dalgleish said.
“I was very happy with what we know so far regarding the response of our officers,” Dalgleish said.
Police Capt. Richard Meulenberg also said multiple people were wounded and that the medical complex was a “catastrophic scene.” The exact number of wounded was not immediately available.
The dead are yet to be identified by the Police and hospital officials.
St. Francis Health System locked down its campus Wednesday afternoon because of the situation at the Natalie Medical Building. The Natalie building houses an outpatient surgery centre and a breast health centre.
Dalgleish said an orthopaedic clinic also is located on the second floor where officers discovered the shooter and several victims.
“This campus is sacred ground for our community,” said Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum. “For decades, this campus has been a place where heroes come to work every day to save the lives of people in our community.”
Bynum added: “Right now, my thoughts are with the victims. If we want to have a policy discussion, that is something to be had in the future, but not tonight.”
Wednesday’s shooting comes just more than two weeks after a shooting at a Buffalo supermarket by a white man who is accused of killing 10 Black people in a racist attack.
