(CNN) — A patient who sacrificed his life to save his wife. Two talented doctors who were appreciated by their communities. A receptionist “with a true vocation for service”.
So were the four victims who died this Wednesday in a shooting inside a Tulsa, Oklahoma hospital.
An armed man, who was a patient at the hospital, shot and killed William Love, Dr. Preston Phillips, Dr. Stephanie Husen and Amanda Glenn at a medical facility on the Saint Francis Hospital campus in Tulsa, authorities said during a conference call. press this Thursday.
“It’s us who are supposed to care for others during tragedies like this. To think that our caregivers were the victims is just incomprehensible to me,” Dr. Ryan Parker, an associate medical director at Saint Francis and an ER doctor, said Thursday.
“They died while serving others,” he said. “They died doing their duty.”
After receiving a “plenty of calls and feedback from the community,” Saint Francis Health System created a fund with the Tulsa Community Foundation to accept donations that “help this cause”.
The funds raised will support the families of the victims and the affected employees.
The Tulsa tragedy is the 233rd mass shooting to happen in the United States alone so far in 2022, according to the Archive of Armed Violence. CNN and GVA define a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people are killed or injured, not including the shooter.
This is what we know regarding the victims.
Dr. Preston Phillips
Phillips was “a wonderful, gentle and kind person, with an infectious smile and a kind word for everyone,” said Sandy Thompson, a friend of the doctor, whom she met at her local tennis club.
Thompson said he had known Phillips for regarding five years and ran into him last month while the two were visiting the tennis club. The woman fondly remembered the doctor as a “true gentleman” who always “looked you in the eye and offered you a bright, genuine smile and warm greeting.”
“He made the world a better place and Preston’s presence will be sorely missed,” Thompson told CNN.
Del Dr’s photo. Preston Phillips.
Phillips is a 1990 graduate of Harvard Medical School and for the past few years has worked as an orthopedic surgeon with a focus on spinal surgery, joint reconstruction and fracture treatment, Tulsa police reported on Facebook.
Ruth Folly, a surgical technician at Saint Francis Hospital, told CNN that she and Phillips traveled together on various medical missions in Africa. In that sense, she highlighted that he impacted the lives of many.
Phillips traveled annually with the nonprofit Light in the World Development Foundation, according to Folly. This group was founded by Komi Folly, a colleague of Phillips and father of Ruth Folly, with a mission to provide surgical services to people in underserved areas of the US and Africa.
Folly’s father invited Phillips on a mission to Togo in 2016, a trip the slain Tulsa doctor repeated over the next few years. He was scheduled to go on another mission to Togo in mid-June.
“You always call me son and I call you father,” Dr. Folly wrote on Facebook. “You told me last week at work over lunch not to stop this project in Togo in case something happens to you. I didn’t know you were giving me the last piece of advice for our trip. It makes me so sad to see you You go without a goodbye. Your work will go on. We will miss you.”
Dr. Cliff Robertson, president and CEO of Saint Francis Health System, called Phillips’ death “the greatest loss for Saint Francis and for Tulsa” during Thursday’s news conference.
Phillips was 59 years old.
Drag. Stephanie Husen
Dr. Stephanie Husen, Tulsa shooting victim.
Dr. Stephanie Husen was a specialist in osteopathic medicine at Saint Francis Hospital and was described by Robertson as “an amazing person.”
Tulsa police said Husen was a sports physician and internal medicine specialist at the Warren Clinic. She graduated from the University of Oklahoma, where she was a member of Chi Omega Sorority.
“Today we mourn the loss of one of our own members of the class of ’92,” the group shared in a message on social media.
“Our hearts go out to the family and loved ones who lost such an incredible woman. She was known and loved by many and will always be remembered. No words might ease the pain of those affected, but know that we are here, in full support and We will continue to pray,” the message added.
Husen was 48 years old.
William Love
William Love.
William Love was a patient at the Warren Clinic where the shooting occurred, according to Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin.
“To Mr. Love’s family, I’m so sorry we weren’t able to save him,” Parker, the deputy medical director, said through tears. “When I woke up this morning, I really wanted this whole thing to be a nightmare, but this is the reality of our world right now.”
At the time of the shooting, Love heard the gunshots and knew his wife, Deborah, “would not be able to escape the building on her own. He sacrificed his life for her,” Tulsa police said on Facebook, citing relatives.
The two were to celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary in August, according to police.
Love was a retired Army sergeant with 27 years of service, including time in Vietnam, police said.
He loved traveling and being with his family, authorities added. Love is survived by her brother, her daughters, eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, police said.
He was 73 years old.
Amanda Glenn
Amanda Glenn.
Amanda Glenn was a receptionist at the Warren Clinic, Franklin said.
Glenn’s friend of five years told CNN that she was the mother of two children and that she always had her children present in everything she did.
And they, in turn, were “mama’s boys,” said Amy Pennington.
Glenn was one of the “proudest mothers” Pennington has ever known and shared a strong bond with her children.
Glenn is also survived by her husband.
“She was a hard worker, a kind soul and would do anything for you,” Pennington said.
Tulsa police described her in similar terms: “Amanda, with a true dedication to service, always put everyone first,” authorities said. And they added that she worked in the medical field for more than 18 years.
“She was the happiest just being with her family, with the most incredible love for her children and her husband,” police said. “Her family says that she always had the biggest smile and kindest spirit.”
Glen was 40 years old.
CNN’s Sara Smart contributed to this report.
