The ex-wife of the Tulsa gunman who killed five people, including himself, on a hospital campus in Oklahoma this week made a call to 911 approximately half an hour after the mass shooting began, according to local authorities.
Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin told Tahlequah Daily News that his department received a call from the neighbouring Cherokee County Sheriff’s offce at 5.24pm, about 30 minutes after alleged shooter Michael Louis had entered the second floor of the Natalie Medical Building and killed two doctors, a receptionist and a patient of the facility.
“This would have been a half hour after the event occurred,” Mr Franklin told the news outlet. “We received two follow-up phone calls from the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office providing clarifying information. All of this information was after the fact,” he added.
According to the sheriff from Cherokee County who spoke with the woman on the 911 call, she identified Louis as her ex-husband and told the dispatcher that she believed he could be planning a shooting in Tulsa.
“She did what she needed to do to report what had been told to her. It’s unfortunate there was a time delay there, but that’s nobody’s fault,” Cherokee County Sheriff Jason Chennault told Tahlequah Daily News.
On 19 May, Louis had back surgery, which was performed by Dr Preston Phillips, one of the victims shot during the hospital attack. The patient then called his doctor several times following the operation, repeatedly complaining of ongoing back pain and was seeking “additional treatment”, according to Mr Franklin.
Louis last saw Dr Phillips on Tuesday for treatment. On Wednesday, just hours before the fatal shooting, he called his doctor to lodge further complaints about his back pain.
When officers arrived to the scene and found the suspected shooter’s body, they also found on Louis a letter “which made it clear that he came in with the intent (of) killing Dr Phillips” and anyone who got in his way, Chief Franklin added.
“This is what he planned to do,” Chief Franklin said. “That letter lead us and told us the story.”
Louis’ ex-wife, who is a doctor in Oklahoma, has her attorneys deliver a statement to KJRH reporter Naomi Keitt, which the journalist later shared on her Facebook page.
“Dr. Edith Lubin, the former wife of Mr. Louis, expresses her deepest condolences for the tragic losses that occurred June 1 in Tulsa,” the statement began, noting that Louis had been recovering from his back surgery with his ex-wife before the hospital shooting. “She was not aware of Mr. Louis possessing any weapons or had any intent of harming anyone. Dr. Lubin is shocked by the news. She consented last night to a search of her home and has fully cooperated with law enforcement in their investigation. She is not aware of any note left by Mr. Louis indicating the planning of this tragic act.”
Ms Lubin also offered condolences for the victims’ families, friends and colleagues, writing in the statement that she is “praying” for all those affected.
“She acknowledges everyone’s concerns in trying to understand what happened, but she is at a loss for an explanation other than the effect of continuing pain to Mr Louis during his recovery,” the statement said, before asking that she and “her family be allowed to deal with their personal grief” and with “the sadness for the losses to all other persons” affected by these events.
