AAOS Member Slain in Exam Room

*Updated July 17, 2023.

Orthopaedic surgeon Benjamin M. Mauck, MD, FAAOS, was shot and killed Tuesday inside a Campbell Clinic facility in Collierville, Tenn., reportedly by a patient. The shooter was apprehended on the grounds of the clinic shortly after the incident.

“Earlier today, we experienced a single shooter event inside our Collierville clinic,” a Campbell Clinic statement read. “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.”

Dr. Mauck, 43, is survived by his wife, Rhiannon Mauck, and two children.

According to Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane, a suspect was taken into custody without incident within five minutes of the shooting. The suspect, identified Wednesday as 29-year-old Larry Pickens of Memphis, is alleged to have shot Dr. Mauck three times with a handgun in an exam room and was apprehended after running outside. Chief Lane said the suspect had been at the scene for several hours before the shooting, and it was not known what precipitated the act. The man was said to have been present at the clinic at times over the preceding week and may have exhibited threatening behavior toward staff. No one else was injured in the incident.

The suspect has been charged with first-degree murder and aggravated assault. Mr. Pickens’ bond was set at $1.2 million, and he was arraigned Thursday. He did not enter a plea. 

“This appears to have been a one-on-one encounter that happened in the exam room,” Chief Lane said at a press conference, adding that numerous patients and employees were in the clinic when the shooting occurred around 2:25 p.m. CDT. Chief Lane expressed praise for Campbell Clinic workers who acted to protect others following the shooting. “They were practicing what they had been trained to do” in the case of an active shooter, he said.

In nearby Germantown, Tenn., police said that six days earlier they had been called to the Campbell Clinic facility there after receiving a call from clinic staff to report a man exhibiting “unusual behavior.” Officers encountered Mr. Pickens when he made a second visit at the Germantown clinic. The individual was asked to leave and warned about trespassing on Campbell Clinic property.

Dr. Mauck, an Academy Fellow, specialized in hand, wrist, and elbow surgery. He joined Campbell Clinic in 2012 after completing residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center–Campbell Clinic and a hand fellowship at University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He was also director of the Congenital Hand Deformities Clinic, helping children born with upper-extremity abnormalities, at Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital in Memphis.

AAOS President Kevin J. Bozic, MD, MBA, FAAOS, wrote in a letter to members: “It is with profound sadness that we find ourselves coming to terms with another senseless act of violence and unbearable loss in our orthopaedic community. We offer our heartfelt condolences to the Mauck family, patients, Campbell Clinic staff, and the entire Collierville community during this difficult time of sadness and pain. Dr. Mauck was a dedicated physician, colleague, and valued member of our orthopaedic organization. His commitment to healing and devotion to the well-being of his patients touched countless lives, and his death leaves an irreplaceable void.”

Frederick Azar, MD, FAAOS, Campbell Clinic chief of staff (and 2014-2015 AAOS president) issued the following statement: “Ben was so much to so many people. He loved his family and was a dedicated husband and father. He was a talented physician who deeply cared for his patients—and they loved him back—with literally thousands of positive testimonials. He was a superb teacher for our residents and fellows, and he was a respected leader in our practice. He was a brother to us all, who had the blessing and the privilege to care for our patients alongside him.”

Dr. Azar added, “We can assure you that his legacy here will be forever held in high regard. His life truly embodied our priorities for faith, family and patient care.”

Trey Eubanks, MD, FACS, interim president and surgeon-in-chief at Le Bonheur, said in a message to the hospital’s staff: “Ben was a friend to so many of us—a respected member of our Le Bonheur family, a beloved colleague, and a dedicated physician to so many patients. We already miss him. His death is an unthinkable tragedy, and I am at a loss at what to say. I am so sorry to those who loved and knew him, for those who worked alongside him every day.”

All the facilities of the internationally renowned Campbell Clinic, founded in 1909 and a fixture in greater Memphis, with nine clinics and two surgery centers, were closed Wednesday.

The shooting in Tennessee summons unsettling recollections of an incident some 13 months ago in Tulsa, Okla., where Preston J. Phillips, MD, FAAOS, and three other individuals were shot and killed by a patient of Dr. Phillips’ who had complained about pain following spine surgery at the orthopaedic center at Saint Francis Hospital. AAOS recently issued the Workplace Violence Toolkit, which provides resources to help AAOS members improve safety from violence for both orthopaedic patients and care teams.

Said Dr. Bozic: “A physician’s office should be a safe haven for physicians, healthcare teams, and patients, and we need to do all that we can to further prevent these tragedies now and in the future. We will continue our effort to address workplace safety and ensure our practices and health care facilities remain places of comfort, healing and learning.”

Terry Stanton is the senior medical writer for AAOS Now. He can be reached at tstanton@aaos.org.