Pictured: Patient, 29, Who Shot and Killed Top Memphis Hand Surgeon Benjamin Mauck in the Exam Room

The disgruntled patient who shot and killed a top hand surgeon in the exam room in Memphis yesterday after threatening him for a week has been identified as Larry Pickens.

Pickens, 29, shot and killed Dr. Benjamin Mauck at the Campbell Clinic in Collierville, Memphis, at 2pm.

It remains unclear what the shooter’s motive was. Until yesterday, he had no criminal record.

Collierville Police Department is refusing to discuss the details of the shooting, citing the ongoing criminal investigation.

Pickens is being held on a $1.2million bond and will appear in court tomorrow. He was arrested outside the clinic yesterday after fleeing with his pistol. His last known address is around 10 miles from the clinic.

Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane said: ‘It’s bad. It’s horrific. It’s terrible.

‘So, this appears to be a one-on-one interaction that occurred within an exam room. This was not a mass shooting situation.’

In an update, the police department wrote: ‘The suspect in this incident is in custody as we continue to investigate.

‘This was a single shooting, not an active shooting incident.’

‘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,’ Akbari 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.’

Dr Mauck leaves behind his wife, Rhiannon Mauck, and their two young children.

Just five days ago, Dr Mauck was heralded in the Memphis Magazine and by the national medical group Castle Connolly as one of the city’s top doctors in a gushing feature.

Dr Mauck told the magazine just last month: ‘It’s never boring.

‘This work involves treating sports injuries, trauma, cancer, and soft-tissue defects. It’s a field of orthopedics that crosses over into other specialties like plastic surgery and neurology.’

He warned before the Fourth of July: ‘Keep your kids away from fireworks.’

He worked as a hand surgeon at Campbell Clinic Orthopedics and was also the head of the Congenital Hand Clinic at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital. According to the clinic’s website, Mauck specialized in elbow, hand, and wrist surgery.

Dr Mauck graduated from Lambuth University in 2002, before attending med school at the University of Tennessee-Memphis. He then completed his residency at UT-Campbell Clinic.

Irina Ollar, director of marketing and PR at Campbell Clinic, said in a statement: ‘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. We ask that you please lift his family in prayer.

‘During this difficult time, we will be working through many details and will keep you updated as we are able.

‘We have decided to close all Campbell Clinic locations tomorrow, July 12 and will communicate the reopening of all facilities at a later time.

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