Police have named the patient who fatally shot Tennessee surgeon Dr Benjamin Mauck in a clinic’s exam room after spending hours at the facility as Larry Pickens.
The 29-year-old suspect killed the doctor, who specialised in elbow, hand and wrist surgery, at the Campbell Clinic in the Memphis suburb of Collierville, Tennessee, at around 2pm on Tuesday.
Investigators say that it was a “targeted attack” and Mr Pickens, who lives in Memphis, has now been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault.
Larry Pickens arrested for murder of Tennessee hand surgeon— (CPD)
“The Collierville Police Department does not have any prior reports regarding Mr Pickens. Investigators are checking with other agencies to see if any prior reports have been filed on Mr Pickens,” Collierville Police Department said in a statement.
The suspect is being held on a $1.2m bond and is expected to be arraigned in court on Thursday.
According to TV station WREG, the suspect had filed police reports in recent years in which he told officers he had mental health issues. This included an April 2022 report in which police were called to an apartment complex where the suspect told them that “Someone keeps messing with his door handle”.
And he told officers that someone kept going into his apartment and leaving it in an unorganised state. The report states that he told officers that he had been diagnosed with schizophrenia but had been off his medication.
“We experienced a single shooter event inside our Collierville clinic,” the clinic said in a statement after the incident.
“We are shocked and heartbroken to confirm the incident resulted in the tragic loss of one of our highly respected and beloved physicians, Dr Ben Mauck. We ask that you please lift his family in prayer,” said Irina Ollar, director of marketing and public relations at Campbell Clinic.
Dr Benjamin Mauck was fatally shot in an exam room at the Campbell Clinic in Memphis— (Campbell Clinic)
“We appreciate our local law enforcement officers who responded within minutes. We will continue to work closely with authorities as this remains an active investigation.”
Dr Mauck had worked at the Campbell Clinic since August 2012 and was also the director of the Congenital Hand Deformities Clinic Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.
“Ben was a friend to so many of us — a respected member of our Le Bonheur family, a beloved colleague and a dedicated physician to so many patients. We already miss him, ” said Dr Trey Eubanks, interim president and surgeon-in-chief at Le Bonheur, in a Tuesday email to staff.
“His death is an unthinkable tragedy, and I am at loss at what to say. I am so sorry to those who loved and knew him, for those who worked alongside him every day.”
