TX - Dr. Mark Hausknecht, 65, Physician to GHW Bush killed in bicycle drive-by shooting, Houston

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More about Pappas:

From What we know about Joseph James Pappas II

"Pappas also had a business application to run a concealed handgun instruction academy, so it seems he had certain skills with a gun.

In a 1986 lawsuit Pappas filed against an employer, Channel 2 Investigates found an odd excerpt: Pappas was characterized as a loose cannon who was "barred from attending meetings ... because of various inappropriate activities," the lawsuit read.

Pappas owns an old police car -- a Ford Crown Victoria -- but he did not take that car with him because police found the cruiser at his house."

From The Latest: Neighbor: Doctor’s slaying suspect was ‘loner’

"A neighbor of the man Houston police have identified as a suspect in the fatal shooting of former President George H.W. Bush's doctor describes him as a nice, quiet man who kept to himself and had few close friends.

Jim Herd said he has known Joseph James Pappas all of his life, having attended the same high school and church as him.

Herd said the death about 20 years ago of Pappas' mother during surgery hit her son hard. He remembers that Pappas stopped attending church for a long time, but he said he doesn't remember hearing Pappas speak bitterly of her death or place blame for it.

After police released photos of the suspect, Herd said he thought it resembled Pappas but brushed the notion aside."
 
This story is so disturbing as a health care professional. We deal with threats to our safety frequently from disgruntled families. Especially in pediatrics... the police that work those corners are only there for peak traffic times to help with crossing otherwise we are often left to our own devices. Sure we can get Hospital security to walk us to our car but they aren’t armed...
 
My first job as a nurse, I had a patient commit suicide right outside the nurse's station. I quit that job. My thinking was that he could have easily have killed me, thinking the meds caused him to be ill, or whatever. Wasn't worth the risk. Sadly doctors and surgeons are even more open to that type thinking.

I wish people would realize that doctors are human and make mistakes. They give their best educated guess, but it's not going to be always right.

I can't imagine 20yrs of anger, of grieving, or whatever he was thinking for that length of time. I know it hurts to miss your parents, but gosh killing a doctor isn't going to bring the parent back to life....
 
Doctors do make mistakes. And in the case of Pappas’s Mom, we don’t even know if Dr. H made a mistake. There wasn’t even a malpractice suit filed. Just seemed like Pappas’s life was not going the way he wanted and latched onto his mother’s death as the cause and placed blame on Dr. H.
 
2Hope4 said:
My first job as a nurse, I had a patient commit suicide right outside the nurse's station. I quit that job. My thinking was that he could have easily have killed me, thinking the meds caused him to be ill, or whatever. Wasn't worth the risk. Sadly doctors and surgeons are even more open to that type thinking.

I wish people would realize that doctors are human and make mistakes. They give their best educated guess, but it's not going to be always right.

I can't imagine 20yrs of anger, of grieving, or whatever he was thinking for that length of time. I know it hurts to miss your parents, but gosh killing a doctor isn't going to bring the parent back to life....
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Not to mention the fact that we don't know if a mistake was even made--or if it was, by whom.
 
Suspect's mother was quite elderly. Surgery is very risky at that age. Most likely nobody even made a mistake. Lawyers wouldn't be interested in pursing a suit if there was no/little hope of winning it.
 
I doubt that’s him in the South Houston area... bodies are found down there fairly frequently. The area is a little rough.
smr said:
Is this around Galveston County? (I know little about TX counties)

Brett Buffington on Twitter
"Police confirm the body found in the woods off West Fuqua Street this afternoon is part of a case out of Galveston County. It is unclear how the man died."
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glassheater said:
Man accused of killing doctor transferred home's deed 1 day before crime, notary says

I’m thinking he planned to flee all along or end his life in case he was caught.
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I tend to agree.

Selling the guns, to me, screams "trying to make cash to help fund my life on the lam..." vs selling weapons before committing suicide. They say he texted someone to say he was going to commit suicide. I don't doubt he might do it if cornered by the police, but I have to think with 20 years of grudge he had ample time to set aside cash, resources, a new identity, etc, in Mexico or Central America or some other place he'd like to live. It is slightly odd to me that he hung around for a few days before disappearing, but it could've been he was just seeing if he could get away with it. Maybe something happened to tip him off, or when the video was released he realized he was more identifiable and decided it was time to activate "Plan B" and leave.

It seems to me that nursing the 20 year grudge, he was either waiting until he was at a point in his life where he would accept a final exit (ie. suicide) vs being captured and going to jail, so he waited until his father died and perhaps his own health took a turn, or it was just a long simmering planning that he waited until he had trained and trained and planned for a variety of contingencies. He reminds me in some ways of someone I know who is very intelligent, yet also somewhat obsessive and has some difficulties interacting with other people and forming attachments in society. No spouse, no kids, extremely meticulous (the yard, the house, all the planning) described as being chivalrous and kind / helpful, almost to a fault, yet also capable of bouts of rage and anger, and has difficulty getting over perceived slights or injustices no matter how minor, such that something like this could fester for decades. I don't know the name for this particular psychology but I've sort of seen this pattern before.

I have to think the text is almost a distractor to police while he bikes off into the sunset to catch a plane to Mexico or otherwise flee to his new life. I'd be curious if he ever traveled much or had a favorite place to vacation. I could also see him relocating to the mountains or somewhere in the middle of nowhere Arizona / Utah where he could do firearms training under an assumed identity and keep to himself.
 
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docbh said:
I tend to agree. Hopefully he is not the active shooter being reported at Wright Patterson AFB right now in Ohio.

Selling the guns, to me, screams "trying to make cash to help fund my life on the lam..." vs selling weapons before committing suicide. They say he texted someone to say he was going to commit suicide. I don't doubt he might do it if cornered by the police, but I have to think with 20 years of grudge he had ample time to set aside cash, resources, a new identity, etc, in Mexico or Central America or some other place he'd like to live. It is slightly odd to me that he hung around for a few days before disappearing, but it could've been he was just seeing if he could get away with it. Maybe something happened to tip him off, or when the video was released he realized he was more identifiable and decided it was time to activate "Plan B" and leave.

It seems to me that nursing the 20 year grudge, he was either waiting until he was at a point in his life where he would accept a final exit (ie. suicide) vs being captured and going to jail, so he waited until his father died and perhaps his own health took a turn, or it was just a long simmering planning that he waited until he had trained and trained and planned for a variety of contingencies. He reminds me in some ways of someone I know who is very intelligent, yet also somewhat obsessive and has some difficulties interacting with other people and forming attachments in society. No spouse, no kids, extremely meticulous (the yard, the house, all the planning) described as being chivalrous and kind / helpful, almost to a fault, yet also capable of bouts of rage and anger, and has difficulty getting over perceived slights or injustices no matter how minor, such that something like this could fester for decades. I don't know the name for this particular psychology but I've sort of seen this pattern before.

I have to think the text is almost a distractor to police while he bikes off into the sunset to catch a plane to Mexico or otherwise flee to his new life. I'd be curious if he ever traveled much or had a favorite place to vacation. I could also see him relocating to the mountains or somewhere in the middle of nowhere Arizona / Utah where he could do firearms training under an assumed identity and keep to himself.
Click to expand...

Very insightful analysis. I’m not a psychologist so I’m just taking a guess here - but sounds like a martyr/victim complex stemming from codependency. Doesn’t surprise me he ended up in law enforcement ( a ‘helping’ career) either.
 
jjenny said:
Suspect's mother was quite elderly. Surgery is very risky at that age. Most likely nobody even made a mistake. Lawyers wouldn't be interested in pursing a suit if there was no/little hope of winning it.
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She was not quite 70; 69 and 1/2 just past late middle age. I can see why the death of anyone's mother would be distressing, but it's hard imagine a normal person over forty years old letting this event -at such ages - define his life, even if he believed the doctor erred.
 
Wonder if his father also took her medical death hard, and whether that may have added Pappas II's grief and anger after his father died.
 
SarahW said:
She was not quite 70; 69 and 1/2 just past late middle age. I can see why the death of anyone's mother would be distressing, but it's hard imagine a normal person over forty years old letting this event -at such ages - define his life, even if he believed the doctor erred.
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There was no lawsuit as far as I can tell. If lawyers don't think they have a good case they won't take on the case. Since this guy was presumably so upset 20 years later, if there was a case, I fail to see why there was no lawsuit.
 
a sick mind...an evil act. Freudian implications. Intentionally murdered in his scrubs.
 
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