Yesterday, Wednesday, a gunman carrying a rifle and a pistol opened fire inside a medical building in Tulsa, Oklahoma, killing 4 people and wounding others before shooting himself, police said, adding that the quick response of security personnel to the incident prevented more people from being harmed.
Eric Dalglish, deputy police chief of Tulsa, told reporters that police arrived three minutes after receiving a call about a shooting, followed by a second gunshot on the second floor of the Natalie building.
He added that the security men's response came within the framework of increased security scrutiny, after an 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two teachers in a classroom in a school in Ovaldi, Texas, last week, while security men remained outside the school for about an hour.
The Tulsa incident is the latest in a series of indiscriminate shootings that shocked Americans and sparked a debate about arms control.
Police said they were trying to identify the suspect, who they estimated to be between 35 and 40 years old.
Dalglish said that Natalie's building houses doctors' offices and an orthopedic center, adding that he believed the victims included staff and patients.
And the network "CNN" (CNN) quoted the White House as saying that President Joe Biden was briefed on the details of the shooting incident, and that the White House is closely monitoring the situation.
The United States is witnessing almost daily shootings in public places, and major cities - such as New York, Chicago, Miami and San Francisco - are recording a high rate of crimes committed with firearms, especially since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.