Tulsa hospital attack: Man who stabbed doctor and two nurses charged as past arrests come to light
SAN FERNANDO VALLEY, CALIFORNIA: A man has been charged with attempted murder for allegedly stabbing a doctor and two nurses inside the Encino Hospital Medical Center in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon, June 3. 35-year-old Ashkan Amirsoleymani was booked on three counts of attempted murder, the LAPD has confirmed. He is being held on $3million bail. A motive for the attack has not been revealed.
Amirsoleymani has had previous run-ins with the law, including being arrested twice last year for resisting arrest, and for battery of a police officer. The suspect entered Encino Hospital Medical Center in the San Fernando Valley shortly before 4 pm on the day of the attack after parking his car in the middle of a street. He went to the emergency room and asked for treatment for anxiety, and then proceeded to stab the doctor and nurses.
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Parham Saadat, a dental hygienist who works nearby, described how he, along with his co-worker Faraz Farahnik, rushed to help the victims. "There was blood all over the floor, blood in the rooms, blood on the gurney the doctor was laying on," Saadat reportedly said. "It was a bloodbath."
Saadat said that he closed a storage room's door behind the man to keep him locked up until authorities arrived. "He just very calmly turned his face and looked at me through the window, then turned his head back around. No reaction," he said. "That´s where it kind of got me." Amirsoleymani was taken into custody soon after.
According to fire officials, the three victims were taken to a trauma center in critical condition. One of them had to undergo surgery. Dignity Health Northridge Hospital Medical Center confirmed that two of them have been treated and released.
This incident comes days after an unidentified shooter went on a rampage at a hospital campus in Tulsa, killing at least four people before turning the gun on himself. City Council Jayme Fowler reportedly said that the gunman said he was looking for 'Dr Phillips' before storming the Natalie Building at St Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Wednesday, June 1. Police confirmed that the suspect was carrying both a rifle and a handgun. It is unclear if the doctor the gunman targeted is among the victims.
Oklahoma Republican Governor Kevin Stit condemned the shooting in a statement. "What happened today in Tulsa is a senseless act of violence and hatred. Sarah and I are praying for the families of those who lost their lives and for those who were injured," he said. "I am grateful for the quick and brave actions of the Tulsa Police Department and other first responders who did their best to contain a terrible situation." He added, "I have offered Mayor G.T. Bynum any state resources that may be needed, and I ask all Oklahomans to come together in support of the Saint Francis Health System community and to grieve with those whose lives have been forever changed."