MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An orthopaedic surgeon was fatally shot by a patient in an exam room at a Memphis clinic on Tuesday.
Larry Pickens, 29, was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault for allegedly shooting 43-year-old Dr. Benjamin Mauck at the Campbell Clinic, reports CBS News. He was arraigned Thursday morning and is being held on a $2.1 million bond. He is due back in Collierville Municipal Court on July 20.
A nurse told Collierville Police that Pickens pulled out a gun from his waistband and fired three shots. Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane said the suspect had reportedly been at the clinic for several hours before the shooting. The nurse said she recognized Pickens from previous visits to the clinic.
Lane said police received a 911 call around 2:03 p.m. and the first officer arrived at 2:06 p.m. Pickens fled the exam room and was apprehended by police outside the clinic five minutes after the shooting. He was in possession of a handgun when he was taken into custody.
Lane said many patients and employees were in the clinic when the shooting occurred. He praised Campbell Clinic employees for protecting patients and “practicing what they have been trained to do” during an active shooter incident. No one else was injured.
Police confirmed Pickens was a long-term patient of the clinic and had visited multiple sites within the network, which has nine locations and two ambulatory sites with 90 doctors. A motive has not been released but a witness who works at the clinic told WREG the suspect had been threatening to harm a clinic employee for the past week.
Pickens had previous interactions with law enforcement. In one case, he told police he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had been off his medication, according to WREG. In another, he called the police after an altercation with a barber regarding his haircut. Pickens was banned from the shop last November.
Mauck specialized in elbow, hand, and wrist surgeries and began working at the clinic in Aug. 2012. He was also the director of the Congenital Hand Deformities Clinic at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. Last week, Mauck was named one of the “2023 Top Doctors in Memphis” by Memphis magazine.
“We are shocked and heartbroken to confirm the incident resulted in the tragic loss of one of our highly respected and beloved physicians, Dr. Ben Mauck. We ask that you please lift his family in prayer,” said Irina Ollar, the clinic’s director of marketing and public relations. “We appreciate our local law enforcement officers who responded within minutes. We will continue to work closely with authorities as this remains an active investigation.”
All Campbell Clinic locations were closed on Wednesday.
