The incident happened at around 3:30 p.m. Thursday when an unnamed patient entered the Center for Wellness and Pain Care in Las Vegas, attempting to get an appointment. When the man was told he could not have an appointment at the Pain Clinic, he shot two employees before turning the gun on himself.

Gunman shoots two employees and himself at a Las Vegas pain clinic

A patient died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds after two employees of the pain clinic were shot and injured and a third party was hurt while trying to get out of the building. A spokeswoman for the Las Vegas police, Laura Meltzer, said the employees’ injuries were not life-threatening.

The injured employees were taken to the trauma unit at the University Medical Center by Las Vegas Fire and Rescue, while the third person was treated at the scene for minor injuries.

Meltzer went on to say the gunman is thought to be a patient of the pain clinic and turned violent when he was told he could not have an unscheduled appointment. She went on to say the shooter died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and police are not seeking other suspects in the incident. Meltzer said that 911 calls received from the scene gave accurate information, which led to police responding soon after the shots were fired.

She added they were very fortunate that the scene was quickly contained.

Staff and patients of the pain clinic were screaming and running

The medical director of the pain clinic, Neville Campbell, made a post to Facebook following the shooting, saying it was a horrifying experience. He said employees were screaming, doors were slamming and people were running from the building.

Campbell himself hid in an office with around five other people.

He wrote that they barricaded themselves into the room behind a wooden desk, adding that the questions of life, its purpose and meaning went through his mind. He added that the experience was almost too much to bear. However, Campbell did note that things could have been far worse and he thanked God for protecting himself and his staff.

Witnesses on the scene of the pain center shooting

The Las Vegas Review-Journal quoted Caitlyn Jones as saying she was standing close to the shooter when the first shot was fired. She said she had never heard anything that loud in her life.

Jones said the gunman pointed the gun at her and she ran. She added there were around a dozen people in the office when it started but she didn’t hear the gunman saying anything before he started shooting. Jones said the pain clinic is in a small building so there wasn’t anywhere to go to get away from the gunman.

41-year-old Samuel Alonge told the Las Vegas Sun that he was alone in a room waiting for a doctor when the shooting started.

Alonge said it was so peaceful until he heard a “pop” sound, followed by around seven more. He was scared and didn’t know what to do.

Fearing the shooter would go from room to room, Alonge initially tried to break a window to escape from the building, but without success. He then hid in the room and called 911 – he said he had to whisper into the phone as he was scared of alerting the gunman. Shortly afterward, someone opened the door to the room, telling him to come out and he saw the gunman’s body lying in the passage.

The Clark County Coroner’s Office will release the gunman’s identity once his next of kin has been notified.