It was unclear if the police had shot the gunman or if he had shot himself, officials said.
The assailant was dead, but it was unclear if the police had shot him or he had shot himself, officials said. Jesus Jiménez
Multiple people were shot and four people, including the gunman, were killed on Wednesday afternoon at a medical building in Tulsa, Okla., the Tulsa police said. The assailant, who was armed with a rifle, was dead, according to Capt. Richard Meulenberg of the Tulsa Police Department, who said he was not sure if the police had shot him or if he had shot himself. Captain Meulenberg said that the gunfire had apparently ceased and that the authorities were searching the building “floor by floor, room by room.”
“It’s a catastrophic scene in there right now,” Captain Meulenberg told reporters outside the hospital. Chief Wendell Franklin of the Tulsa Police said on Twitter that the police had responded to an “active shooter incident” near East 61st Street and South Yale Avenue in Tulsa and next to Saint Francis Hospital.
“Please stay away from the area and yield to all emergency vehicles as we deal with this response,” Chief Franklin said. The Tulsa Police Department said on Twitter that it had set up a reunification site for families at Memorial High School. The shooting came just eight days after 19 students and two teachers were killed in a mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, and 18 days after 10 people were killed by a gunman at a supermarket in Buffalo, N.Y. Roni Caryn Rabin and Tim Arango
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said last month that gun deaths in the United States reached the highest number recorded in 2020, the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. More than 45,000 Americans died in gun-related incidents that year, half of which were suicides. The gun homicide rate was the highest reported since 1994. The rise in gun violence has afflicted cities large and small, in both blue and red states, leaving law enforcement scrambling for answers. Federal officials and outside experts were not certain what caused the surge in gun deaths.
“One possible explanation is stressors associated with the Covid pandemic that could have played a role, including changes and disruption to services and education, social isolation, housing instability and difficulty covering daily expenses,” said Thomas R. Simon, associate director for science at the C. D. C. ’s division of violence prevention. The rise also corresponded to accelerated sales of firearms as the pandemic spread and lockdowns became the norm, the C.D.C. analysis noted. Americans went on a gun-buying spree in 2020 that continued into 2021, when in a single week the F.B.I. reported a record 1.2 million background checks. But gun homicide has many roots. Federal researchers also cited disruptions in routine health care; protests over police use of lethal force; a rise in domestic violence; inequitable access to health care; and longstanding systemic racism that has contributed to poor housing conditions, limited educational opportunities and high poverty rates. The New York Times
When we identify a suspect in a mass shooting:
The Times publishes a suspect’s name when it is confirmed by authorities.
