Tulsa hospital gunman Michael Louis purchased the AR-15-pattern rifle used in Wednesday’s rampage just hours before he pulled the trigger, police said.
The rifle was purchased legally, authorities said Thursday.
A second weapon found at the scene, a handgun, was also purchased legally at an area pawn shop — just days ago on May 29.
Tulsa police have said both weapons appear to have been used in the shooting, which left four people dead in an orthopedic office on the second floor of the Natalie Medical Building at St. Francis Hospital.
Police suspect Louis was targeting one of the doctors with an office there who had performed surgery on him previously.
Authorities said Louis turned one of the weapons on himself after he was engaged by police officers responding to an active shooter call.
Emergency personnel respond to a shooting at the Natalie Medical Building on Wednesday. Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP
Tulsa Police talk to a young man at Memorial High School as he waits to be reunited with a family member who was evacuated from the scene of the shooting at the Natalie Medical Building. Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP
An AR-15 was found at the site of the shooting — that was reportedly purchased the same day. REUTERS
Tulsa Police Department Capt. Richard Meulenberg described the scene at the medical facility as “catastrophic.” REUTERS/Michael Noble Jr.An AR-15-style rifle — a semi-automatic version of the military’s M-16 and M-4 select-fire weapons — was used in at least two other mass shootings in the past three weeks.
Uvalde school shooter Salvador Ramos was armed with an AR-15-style rifle when he stormed into Robb Elementary school, leaving 19 students and two teachers dead.
Buffalo supermarket shooting suspect Peyton Gendron wrote about illegally modifying his New York-compliant AR-15 to circumvent state laws meant to slow down reloading the weapon.
