METAIRIE, La. -- JPSO identified the man who police say gunned down a prominent Metairie doctor before turning the gun on himself on Thursday afternoon.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office says John P. Thomas of Kenner killed Dr. Elbert Goodier while he was seeing a patient. Investigators now confirm Thomas was also his patient.
"Of course, your heart drops," said Michael Jones, whose stepson works at the restaurant where Thomas died. "You don't ever want it to be one of yours. Unfortunately, it happened to somebody else. You just don't want it to be one of yours."
Yellow crime tape is what greeted Michael Jones who rushed over to pick-up his stepson after hearing the news. The 19-year-old had worked at the fast-food restaurant on West Esplanade Avenue for only four months.
"I received a phone call that there was a shooting at Wendy's over here by EJ hospital,” said Jones.
JPSO now says Thomas walked into the restaurant after frantic calls began flooding 911 operators around 2 p.m. in the afternoon. The 73-year-old is accused of shooting and killing 75-year-old Goodier inside his practice on East Jefferson General Hospital's campus.
“They followed him here to the Wendy's at West Esplanade and once the officer made eye contact with the elderly gentleman, it appeared that he had taken the handgun and placed it in his mouth and took his own life,” said JPSO spokesperson Col. John Fortunato.
Homicide detectives say before the suicide, Thomas had walked into his doctor's office on East Jefferson General Hospital's campus. Dr. Goodier, a prominent urologist, was seeing a patient when he was shot in the head. Thomas' family members tell detectives the alleged gunman suffered from mental illness.
"He's highly respected," said Jefferson Parish Coroner Dr. Gerry Cvitanovich of his colleagues’ murder. "He's a wonderful physician, loved by his patients. It’s just shocking that this would happen to him.”
A representative for the Goodier family issued the following statement:
Our family is devastated about the tragic loss of such a wonderful husband, father, grandfather, and physician. We appreciate the outpouring of support from family, friends, the medical community, and his patients. We would like to thank JPSO, the Jefferson Parish Coroner's Office, and the East Jefferson General Hospital staff for their comfort and support over the last 24 hours. We ask for privacy at this time of grief.
Dr. Goodier was an LSU graduate. A hospital spokesperson says he dedicated nearly 50 years of his career to the greater New Orleans area. Now Goodiers' loved ones, the medical community and those who witnessed the tragic shootings are struggling to understand why.
“You just don't know," added Jones. "People will do things for whatever the reason might be. They just do them.”
Dr. Goodier leaves behind a wife, two daughters and a son.