Heart doctor for former President George H.W. Bush killed in bicycle drive-by shooting

[riversedge]

Source: CNN







Updated 7:48 PM ET, Fri July 20, 2018

(CNN)A cardiologist who treated former President George H.W. Bush was killed Friday morning in a bicycle-to-bicycle drive-by shooting near Texas Medical Center in Houston, authorities said.

Dr. Mark Hausknecht and the shooter were both riding bikes on South Main Street, near Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, shortly before 9 a.m. local time, Executive Assistant Police Chief Troy Finner said at a news conference.

Hausknecht, 65, was biking north when he passed the shooter going in the other direction, Finner said. The shooter turned, fired two shots at Hausknecht and rode away on his bike, Finner said.

Hausknecht was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, Finner said.

Finner said investigators didn't know if the shooting was targeted, random or caused by road rage. He said a few people witnessed the shooting and video may become available................................

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/07/20/us/bush-cardiologist-killed-in-houston/index.html

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What a horrible thing to happen. Out of the blue-a good man gunned down. damn

so senseless.

Link to tweet

[Squinch]

1. A bicycle drive-by shooting? That is truly bizarre.

[rocktivity]

21. I wonder if it was his usual habit to cycle on that route.

That would make it a deliberate hit.

A coincidence, or DID his past catch up with him?


rocktivity

[Squinch]

22. It really sounds like someone hit him specifically.

[Marie Marie]

2. Wow, that is sad and strange.

[bucolic_frolic]

3. Very sad

so senseless. The loss of this man's retirement years that he worked for, the loss to his family, the resources society has invested in his expertise that may have been useful for several more years. We lose so much with a shooting like this one.

[oasis]

4. Very sad indeed. My heart goes out to the victim's family.

[IcyPeas]

28. ummm, he was a heart doctor, strange thing to say....

[sinkingfeeling]

5. And people thinking travelling to other countries is dangerous.

[turbinetree]

6. WTF.............................

Hey Texas....................I mean really Hey Texas......................do you think there is a problem in your state............that fucking psychopath just guns down someone going in the opposite direction on a bike, and then you have people following mothers that hate guns and go into a restaurant with fucking guns, that you can have a gun permit to vote but a drivers license doesn't qualify.................what the fuck...................riding a bicycle ....................

This is just unfucking believable..................... .

And to everyone that knew this human being..................I don't know him, but all I can do is put this on my thread to you and his family and friends and associates.......................... ................

[Haggis for Breakfast]

7. This was a hit.

This was no robbery and no accident. No words were exchanged. The other man needed to get that close to identify the doctor, make the shot and get away at speed.

I hope witnesses come forward, but I'm willing to bet that other guy is long gone by now.

The question is why ?

[DavidDvorkin]

8. That's my opinion, too.

[JI7]

9. maybe one of his patients was related to the shooter in some way

and that patient had died and shooter blames the doctor for it.

[Haggis for Breakfast]

13. I don't believe that

I think this was a professional hit. Took planning, strategy and perfect timing for a fail-safe getaway. I'd be willing to bet that the witnesses have conflicting descriptions of the man.

But again, why ?

[LisaL]

19. Witnesses might differ on descriptions (although only one has been released) but cameras don't lie.

It's a very busy area with a lot of surveillance, apparently.
Doesn't seem like such a good area for a professional hit.

[LudwigPastorius]

24. Or, it could just be a lunatic with a gun.

There are plenty of them out there.

Occam's razor...

[Princess Turandot]

12. According to the article, he regularly biked to work at the hospital...

He likely did so at around the same time each day. It might have taken a few tries, but deliberately crossing paths with him wouldn't have been very difficult. Since it happened on a weekday at 9AM, hopefully more witnesses will realize what they saw and come forward with information.

My first thought was the same as JI7's. Someone blamed the doctor for an unfortunate patient outcome and went after him.

[Nay]

17. Yep. It wasn't random. Look at relatives of people who died under his care. nt

[Maxheader]

31. Setting a presedence?

Be a shame if physicians became hesitant to treat
rightwing leaders..

[Marcuse]

10. Road Rage? Maybe the doctor was on the wrong side of the street and nearly struck the shooter.

[Igel]

36. I'm going to guess the opposite.

The doctor was probably riding with traffic and ran into somebody riding against traffic. I'd refuse to yield right of way to somebody going the wrong direction, and the other guy would have been forced into traffic to go around (or forced to stop and get out of the way).

Lots of Houstonians do not know the rules of the road when it comes to bikes--or, rather, they assume that bikes can go anyway. The usual distribution of awareness of the laws and compliance with these particular laws matches SES fairly closely, from what I've heard and seen. Some people bike to be green or progressive; some bike because they simply can't afford a car or to drive it and pay for parking.

Even in Los Angeles I had drivers honking at me when I'd get in the left lane and wait for a left turn signal, drivers who assumed that bikers were just around and in the way. And saw more than a couple bikers who had no clue that laws applied to them.

I don't bike in Houston. Drivers here are less aware of the rules of the road than drivers in Los Angeles.

[LisaL]

39. They were both going in the same direction.

The suspect passed the doctor then turned around and shot him. That statement that shooter was going in the opposite direction seems to be in error based on later reporting.

[lagomorph777]

11. Score another win for the NRA.

[DFW]

14. Texas Republicans will find a way to make this all OK

They will just say the killer was cycling his ground.

[bluedigger]

15. Ban guns and we'll just have a lot more drive-by bicycle spearings.

I don't know if this was a professional hit, but it was premeditated for sure.

[milestogo]

16. Texas loves guns.

[Paladin]

20. Yeah, guns are only a problem in Texas, right?

Give me a break.

[Yavin4]

29. That's true.

Texas is the state that gave us W, Rick Perry, and Ted Cruz. Guns may be the least of its problems.

[Kotya]

32. Connecticut gave us Dubya and Canada gave us Ted Cruz.

Texas owns Rick Perry though.

[Yavin4]

33. Okay. What about Gohmert and Abbott? n/t

[xor]

18. That sounds a bit suspicious...

[RussBLib]

23. I wonder if he had a connection to Trump?

suspicious of everything these days

[WhiteTara]

25. Poppy was CIA so maybe a chicken came to roost?

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

26. That's what I thought immediately.

Maybe he knew too much. Like...who killed Kennedy.

[LiberalArkie]

30. It seems that when CIA directors get too old and might babble some, they and the people around

them die accidentally. People sometimes talk under anesthesia.

[hibbing]

27. Bizarre n/t

[Lib4lif3]

34. WTF

[NotASurfer]

35. My first thought was the same one I had when Bourdain died in France

Did he say something critical about Putin?

Sadly that's the first place my mind goes now

[titaniumsalute]

37. There was a beloved DR near where I love gunned down at his hospital parking lot

It was truly bizarre. But after some uncovering they found it was the doctor's current wife's ex husband who did the killing. A long history of battling a nut job ex husband came to end with bullets. So we never really know how this stuff might happen. Could have been random. Could have been targeted. Either way a damned shame.

[muriel_volestrangler]

38. Sketch and description; killer had passed him a couple of blocks earlier

The Houston Methodist doctor was on his bike near the intersection of Main and Holcombe when the gunman passed him from behind, police said. Two blocks later, the shooter turned around on his mountain bike and fired at least twice. The doctor went down immediately, and the shooter rode off northbound.

The wanted man is described by police as a clean-shaven white or Hispanic 30-year-old man wearing a gray warm-up jacket, khaki shorts, a tan baseball cap and sunglasses. He's about 5-foot-10 with a slender build, police said.

https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Wife-of-Houston-doctor-shot-while-biking-to-work-13094247.php

His wife's statement:

After spending his adult life saving and prolonging the lives of others, my talented husband, Dr. Mark Hausknecht, had his life prematurely ended.

"Senseless" has become a trite adjective to describe these tragedies, but what IS senseless is the misguided notion that any society with more guns is a safer society. When students cannot go to school without fear, and teachers need to arm themselves, what has this country come to?? As a trained emergency medicine physician, I am no stranger to the devastating consequences of both intentional and accidental firearm use. Now my family and I have joined the ranks of the tens of thousands of other grieving Americans who lose innocent loved ones each year.

So many have asked what can be done to help. While law enforcement has given you their focus on finding the criminal, I am asking you to use your vote and your voice to stem the tide of this growing public health epidemic. Write, email or tweet your Congressional Representative urging sensible gun laws. We owe it to future generations to leave a safer environment.

Our family would like to thank law enforcement, the medical community, and so many colleagues, patients, friends and neighbors who have reached out to support us during this difficult time. Mark loved this city. To honor him--work hard, be responsible, patient, tolerant and compassionate.

http://abc13.com/sketch-released-of-suspect-wanted-for-killing-dr-mark-hausknecht/3801612/