Patient Shoots Two at Las Vegas Pain Clinic
/By Pat Anson, Editor
A gunman who shot and wounded two people at a Las Vegas pain clinic before taking his own life has been identified as 50-year old Chad Broderick of Las Vegas.
Police say Broderick walked into the Center for Wellness and Pain Care of Las Vegas Thursday afternoon and asked for an unscheduled appointment to see a doctor. When it was refused, he pulled out a gun and started shooting in the lobby. About a dozen people were inside the clinic at the time.
“When I heard the first gunshot, I thought it was a bottle or something on the floor, like something just popped,” a patient told the Las Vegas Review-Journal.
“When I started hearing that ‘pop, pop, pop,’ I was so scared.”
“One of the most frightening experiences ever!” Neville Campbell, MD, the pain clinic’s medical director, wrote on his Facebook page soon after the shooting.
NEVILLE CAMPBELL/FACEBOOK
Campbell said there were “piercing screams” as people ran to escape the gunfire.
“As we barricaded ourself (with 5 others ) with a wooden desk behind the door in small office , the question of life, meaning and purpose overwhelmed my mind,” said Campbell. “But God is Good. He will never desert his own. Thank you for protecting my staff members.”
The two people who were hit by gunfire are expected to survive. Two others suffered minor injuries while trying to escape. Broderick died at the scene after shooting himself.
CHAD BRODERICK/FACEBOOK
Broderick’s neighbors told the Review Journal that he was a husband and father of two, who mostly kept to himself but had a friendly wave. One neighbor called Broderick a “really nice gentleman” who complained of back pain.
“He used to talk about taking pain pills,” said Welborn Williams. “He couldn’t get any sleep at night.”
Broderick’s Facebook page reveals a man who loved fishing and was a gun enthusiast. Ironically, in 2012 Broderick recommended without comment on his page a story about an employee at a Las Vegas medical clinic who was shot during an armed robbery.
The Review Journal reported that Broderick had a concealed weapons permit and five firearms. Williams said Broderick had offered to teach him about firearms.
“I hate to see anyone in pain like that,” Williams said. “But there should have been another way for him.”
In a statement on its Facebook page, the clinic thanked “all our patients and friends for your kind words and well wishes. We are grateful that everyone is ok.”
The clinic's website says its mission is to "foster an environment of healing" through interventional pain treatments such as epidural steroid injections, as well as massage, acupuncture, aromatherapy and prayer.
The Facebook statement said the clinic would probably remain closed until July 10. Its patients are being referred to another clinic in Henderson, a Las Vegas suburb.
