Kristin Chenoweth is asking for prayers following a deadly shooting in her home state of Oklahoma that left five people dead. A man, later identified as Michael Louis, shot five people, including himself, after entering a building on Tulsa’s St. Francis Health System campus Wednesday.
“Today is hard. There’s so much i can’t say. Please pray for me,” the Broadway star Tweeted Thursday.
In a second tweet, she thanked fans for their outpouring of love, writing, “Thank you for the outpouring of love. I am okay and have an amazing community surrounding me 🖤.”
Tulsa Police Chief, Wendell Franklin, said that Louis, who bought the assault-style rifle used in the killing that same day, had gone to the hospital to kill a doctor — Dr. Preston Phillips, the orthopedic surgeon who treated the gunman — who he blamed for back pain he felt after surgery. Two doctors, a receptionist and a patient were killed.
The suspect “came in with the intent to kill Dr. Phillips and anyone who came in his way,” Franklin said. Authorities found a letter on the gunman that made it clear the attack was targeted.
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Police said the gunman who lived about 50 miles outside of Tulsa, had been released from the hospital on May 24 after back surgery. Afterwards, the man called several times complaining of pain.
According to authorities, in addition to the rifle Louis purchased Wednesday, he bought a pistol at a pawn shop three days earlier.
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After arriving at the scene, three minutes after receiving a call regarding shots fired at the hospital, Franklin said officers raced into the building, where they made contact with the victims and the suspect.
Franklin noted that just five minutes later, officers on the scene heard another shot, which he said was the gunman taking his own life.
The deadly shooting at Tulsa-area hospital comes just a week after the tragic school shooting Uvalde, Texas, which left 19 students and two teachers dead.