Neighbors: Gunman had bad vasectomy

Neighbors: Gunman had bad vasectomy

RENO, NEV.

Authorities on Friday were trying to determine whether a Northern California man’s anger over complications he suffered from a 2010 surgery prompted him to go on a shooting rampage at a Nevada urologist’s office, killing one doctor and critically wounding another before committing suicide.

Reno Police Lt. William Rulla said detectives were working to obtain Alan Oliver Frazier’s medical records to learn more about his physical and mental health.

Frazier, 51, made it clear in a suicide note that he had planned the attack and that his “focus was on the physicians at the specific office,” Rulla said. Police recovered the note at Frazier’s home.

A couple who lived across the street from Frazier at Lake Almanor, about 130 miles north of Reno, said the operation he had was a vasectomy. They also said Frazier frequently posted complaints in an online chat group about the pain he suffered from what he claimed was a botched surgery.

Judge’s order: Keep girl on life support

OAKLAND, CALIF.

A judge on Friday ordered a California hospital to keep a girl declared brain dead on life support after what was supposed to be a routine tonsillectomy.

The ruling by Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo came as both sides in the case agreed to get together and chose a neurologist to further examine 13-year-old Jahi McMath and determine her condition. The judge scheduled a hearing Monday to appoint a physician.

The girl’s family sought the court order to keep Jahi on a ventilator while another opinion is sought. They left the courtroom without commenting.

The family says doctors at Children’s Hospital Oakland wanted to disconnect life support after Jahi was declared brain dead Dec. 12.

Judge lets Hinckley be away from hospital

WASHINGTON

The man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan will get to spend more time outside a mental hospital where he has been confined for most of the past three decades, a judge ruled Friday.

John Hinckley will be allowed to visit his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Va., for up to 17 days at a time. Hinckley has been allowed to spend increasing amounts of time at his mother’s house in recent years, but previous visits were capped at 10 days. Hinckley must make at least eight successful 17-day visits away from the hospital before any requests to increase his time in Williamsburg beyond that will even be considered, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman said in his ruling.

Inspectors check all London theaters

LONDON

Authorities inspected all 52 of London’s famed West End theaters Friday, trying to reassure theatergoers that the city’s elegant but aging venues are safe after chunks of plaster fell from the Apollo Theatre’s ceiling, injuring 79 people.

Westminster Council, the local authority for the area, said the safety inspections turned up no immediate problems.

London police said they had ruled out criminal activity as a cause for the partial ceiling collapse on Thursday night. One line of inquiry for investigators is whether a brief but intense rainstorm an hour before was a factor.

London Ambulance Service said Friday it had treated 79 people, 56 of whom were taken to local hospitals in ambulances and commandeered London buses.

Of these, 47 were “walking wounded” with minor injuries, while nine people “had suffered more serious injuries including head and back injuries.”

Associated Press