A patient shot and killed a doctor at a hospital in Tennessee.
According to local media, NBC and USA Today on the 12th, Dr Benjamin Mock (43), a senior orthopaedic surgeon, was shot by a patient at around 2:00 pm the previous day at the Campbell Clinic in Collierville, Tennessee.
Police identified the suspect as Memphis resident Larry Pickins, 29. Pickins is a patient at the Campbell Clinic and was confirmed to have been in the hospital hours before the incident. Local police said, “The motive for the crime has not yet been confirmed, but the shooting appears to have been intentional.”
A witness told local broadcaster WREG that “Suspect Pekins had been threatening Dr Mock for at least a week.” However, Collierville Police said, “no reports have been received in this regard” and “we are looking to see if there are any reports from other jurisdictions.”
Pickins was arrested by police within five minutes of the crime, charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault, and held in custody on $1.2 million bail by the court. Police explained that at the time of Pickins’ arrest, he had a handgun on his body.
The Campbell Clinic said that Dr Mock has been treating the hospital since 2012 and specializes in elbow, hand, and wrist surgery. The hospital side expressed shock and condolences, saying that Dr Mock was a respected and loved doctor in the community, and asked to “pray for Dr Mock’s family.” Dr Mock had two young children and a wife.
NBC Broadcasting said that Dr Mock was named on the list of ‘2023 Memphis Best Doctors’ in ‘Memphis Magazine’ published last week, saying, “He was a prestigious doctor who received a rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars from about 700 patients.” It is known that Dr Mock has also served as the general manager of the ‘Congenital Hand Deformity Clinic’ affiliated with ‘Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital’ in Memphis.