Metro Nashville Police detective shot after chasing down car-jacking suspect
Body cam footage shows how Metro Nashville Police detective Donovan Coble was shot after running after a suspect on foot. (Credit: Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
An affidavit revealed that beloved Tennesse hand surgeon Benjamin Mauck was shot to death in front of a stunned nurse, as his devastated family broke their silence Thursday in a statement.
Larry Pickens, 29, allegedly gunned down the acclaimed doctor, who was known for his expertise in treating children with congenital hand deformities, in an exam room.
Mauck, 43, was treating Pickens at about 2 p.m. at Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics in Collierville, about 30 miles east of Memphis.
A nurse practitioner, whose name is being withheld by Fox News Digital, told police she was in exam room C-2 when "Mr Pickens removed a pistol from his waistband and fired three rounds at Dr. Mauck," according to an affidavit obtained by Fox News Digital.
ACCLAIMED MEMPHIS HAND SURGEON SHOT TO DEATH BY PATIENT IN TARGETED ATTACK: POLICE
Larry Pickens, right, was charged with first-degree murder for allegedly gunning down Dr. Benjamin Mauck Tuesday inside an exam room at Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics in Collierville. (Campbell Orthopedic Clinic/ Collierville Police Department)
Detectives found Mauck on the floor of the exam room with a gunshot wound to his neck, chest and upper abdomen near paperwork with the suspect's name on it, the court document says.
Police called the killing a targeted attack and noted that no one else at the facility, which was packed with other patients and staff, was harmed.
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The nurse and other employees recognized Pickens from prior visits to the clinic and identified him as the shooter, the affidavit states.
Pickens fled and was arrested minutes later walking on Poplar Avenue near the entrance to the clinic wearing a backpack, which contained a black Smith & Wesson SD40 pistol with an empty chamber and two empty magazines.
Officials have not disclosed a possible motive for the slaying of the father who leaves behind two young children and his wife, Rhiannon Mauck.
Tennessee surgeon Benjamin Mauck, pictured left with his wife, Rhiannon Mauck, and two children, and right with his wife, was fatally shot by a patient Tuesday, according to police. (Facebook)
Mauck's family attorney, Blanchard E. Tual, released a statement thanking the community for their outpouring of support.
"This week, a senseless act of violence took an incredible person from us," the statement reads. "As we grieve this tragedy, our family is choosing to focus on the positive contributions Ben made to the world, personally and professionally. Amid his professional contributions, Ben remained a family man, first and foremost."
Pickens was arraigned Thursday on one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated assault at the Collierville Courthouse for the shocking slaying. He is being held in jail on a $1.2 million bond.
Patients raved about Mauck in online reviews, calling him "exceptionally friendly" and skilled.
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He has more than 700 patient reviews with a rating of 4.9 out of 5 on the clinic's website. "Awesome doctor!" one patient wrote. "He performed surgery on my left thumb. Thanks to him I'm sitting here with my left thumb."
The killing comes two weeks after Memphis Magazine published a feature on Mauck, who was named one of 2023's Top Doctors in Memphis by the Castle Connolly medical group.
A Collierville Police Department vehicle is parked in front of the Campbell Clinic after a doctor was killed in the clinic in Collierville, Tennessee, on Tuesday, July 11, 2023. (Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal/USA Today Network)
"I'm a very detail-oriented person, and I really enjoy the complexity of hands," he told the magazine. "In orthopedic surgery, we often say that millimeters matter, and with hands, one millimeter can make a huge difference."
In addition to his work at Campbell, Mauck headed the congenital hand clinic at Le Bonheur Children's Hospital, according to the article.
A 2020 profile in the Memphis Business Journal said Mauck saw about 70 pediatric patients there a month.
He often treated children with "complex hand abnormalities" and is one of only about 10 surgeons in the U.S. with that skill set, according to the piece.
"I love being able to help kids born with something that could potentially make their lives very, very difficult," he told the publication.
READ THE AFFIDAVIT AGAINST LARRY PICKENS FOR THE ALLEGED MURDER OF DR. BEN MAUCK
Mauck could surgically create a thumb using an index finger for babies born without the critical digit.
He graduated from the University of Tennessee-Memphis Medical School and specialized in elbow, hand and wrist surgery.
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Campbell Clinic Orthopaedics closed all nine of its locations Wednesday in honor of Mauck. They reopened Thursday.
"We are shocked and heartbroken," a clinic spokesperson said in a statement. "We ask that you please lift his family in prayer."
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