By Katherine Donlevy
A Tennessee surgeon was shot to death Tuesday by a patient who lay in wait at the clinic for “several hours” before carrying out the targeted attack, police said.
Dr. Benjamin Mauck was killed in an exam room by an unidentified gunman at the crowded Campbell Clinic Orthopedics in Collierville, a town roughly 30 miles west of Memphis.
“This appears to be a one-on-one interaction,” Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane said at a press conference, adding that the gunman spared the “many” patients and employees who were in the clinic.
“It was in an exam room … It was a health care worker and he was a patient.”
The shooter fired a handgun and ran outside the clinic, where he was apprehended by police without incident just five minutes after killing Mauck.
Lane said the man — whose identity and age have not yet been released — was found carrying a firearm and was taken into custody.
According to Mauck’s clinic biography, he specialized in elbow, hand and wrist surgery and boasted a 4.9 rating among patients.
He joined the Campbell Clinic staff in August 2012, six years after completing medical school training at the University of Tennessee-Memphis.
Just last week, the surgeon was listed by Memphis Magazine as part of its 2023 Top Doctors List.
“Earlier today, we experienced a single shooter event inside our Collierville clinic. 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,” Campbell Clinic said in a statement.
“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.”
“It’s bad. It’s horrific. It’s terrible. Our thoughts and prayers are with the family,” Lane said.
Police are still working to uncover the gunman’s motive, but Tennessee Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) claimed a witness said the shooter had been threatening a staffer at the clinic for a week.
The politician called for gun reform, claiming the gunman likely wouldn’t have been afforded access to a firearm under stricter regulations.
“Tragedies like this underscore the urgent need for common sense — like reinstating background checks and gun licenses, and establishing new reforms like an order of protection so police can remove firearms from a person who is threatening others,” she said in a statement.
“Whether you’re at school, a grocery store, or on the job, you deserve to live and work free from gun violence.”
The murder comes nearly two years after the town suffered a traumatizing mass shooting inside a Kroger supermarket.
Uk Thang, a recently fired outside vendor, killed one worker and injured a dozen others at the store before turning the gun on himself.
