Doctor with terminal cancer kills pediatrician, then self, in hostage standoff: Austin Police

The Austin American-Statesman reports Dr. Bharat Narumanchi walked into the offices of the Children's Medical Group last Friday and inquired about an unpaid administrative job, according to witnesses and police statements. He spoke to staff members about a recent diagnosis for Stage 4 metastatic cancer and his desire to volunteer in the final three to four months doctors had given him, according to a staff member.

In Tuesday's incident, a woman who works in the medical office who managed to escape early on said she called 911 and ran to a business next door. About 45 minutes later, the American-Statesman reports, she said other staff members in the building had come out. Police say Narumanchi had forced the employees to tie themselves.

"They were released because they were not a doctor," the woman said. "This guy did not want anything to do with someone who was not a doctor."

KXAN-TV reports Austin Police homicide investigators told reporters Wednesday that Narumanchi, 43, recently learned he had terminal cancer with only weeks to live.

“We feel like his terminal cancer probably played a large part in whatever it was that occurred in his life and what was happening yesterday,” Austin Police Lt. Jeff Greenwalt said. Greenwalt said Narumanchi's family members told police they began looking into hospice care recently since his diagnosis was so grim. Police did not share what kind of cancer Narumanchi had.

The Austin American-Statesman reports Dr. Katherine Dodson, a 43-year-old pediatrician, operated the Children's Medical Group with several other doctors. Dodson was mother to three children, ages 5, 7 and 11.