A Tennessee surgeon was fatally shot by a patient in an exam room Tuesday afternoon in what police described as a “targeted” attack.
Dr. Benjamin Mauck, who specialized in elbow, hand and wrist surgery, was murdered at Campbell Clinic Orthopedics in Collierville, local police chief Dale Lane said at a news conference Tuesday.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting at the clinic around 2 p.m. local time and within five minutes found the suspect and took him into custody “without incident,” Lane said.
The suspect was identified Wednesday as Larry Pickens, 29, of Memphis.
He has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault, police said in a update.
Lane said Tuesday that the suspect was found with a firearm “on his person” but it was not in his hand.
Police conducted multiple searches of the facility to ensure it was protected.
“This appears to be a one-on-one interaction, it occurred in an exam room,” Lane said.
He said the patient had been in the clinic for “several hours” but it is still unclear what precipitated the shooting. Police said no one else was injured in the incident.
Police said Wednesday that they had no prior reports on Pickens and that investigators are checking with other agencies to see if he has a criminal record.
Pickens’ bail is set at $1.2 million and he is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday. The shooting remains under investigation.
The hospital said in a statement to NBC News: “We experienced a single shooter event inside our Collierville clinic.”
“We are shocked and heartbroken to confirm that the incident resulted in the tragic loss of one of our highly respected and beloved physicians, Dr. Ben Mauck. We ask that you lift his family up in prayer,” said Irina Ollar, director of marketing and public relations for Campbell Clinic.
“We are grateful to our local law enforcement officers who responded within minutes. We will continue to work closely with authorities as this remains an active investigation,” he added.
All Campbell Clinic locations are closed on Wednesdays.
Last week, Mauck had been named one of the “2023 Best Doctors in Memphis“ by METERemphys Mmagazine.
He had worked at the Campbell Clinic since August 2012 and had a 4.9 rating on patient opinions. Mauck was also director of the Congenital Deformities of the Hand Clinic at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.
Dr. Trey Eubanks, Le Bonheur’s interim president and chief surgeon, said in an email to staff Tuesday: “Ben was a friend to many of us, a respected member of our Le Bonheur family, a dear colleague and a doctor dedicated to so many patients. We miss him already.”
“His death is an unthinkable tragedy, and I don’t know what to say. I am very sorry for those who loved him and knew him, for those who worked next to him every day.
The shooting came nearly two years after the 2021 Kroger supermarket shooting in Collierville. In that tragedy, an outside vendor shot 15 people, one fatally, after being asked to leave his job.
