TX - Dr. Mark Hausknecht, 65, Physician to GHW Bush killed in bicycle drive-by shooting, Houston

I think the point that the killer was wearing a jacket is important. Sounds like so many of them that wore a coat, All of them had planned for a long time.

The riding the bike is strange. Why not kill him when walking.
 
Not sure that jacket means anything. Yes, it's hot in TX but this was early in the morning.
Would be more convincing of long time planning if the guy covered his face. He could have wore a helmet, for instance. As it is, the face was not covered other than sunglasses (which look like regular glasses on the sketch).
 
Not sure that jacket means anything. Yes, it's hot in TX but this was early in the morning.
Would be more convincing of long time planning if the guy covered his face. He could have wore a helmet, for instance. As it is, the face was not covered other than sunglasses (which look like regular glasses on the sketch).

He was also wearing a cap
 
I was discussing this case with a friend in the medical profession and these were his thoughts as to random vs targeted:

“My OB colleague was shot dead after his patient died on the op table.The husband followed him home in the evening and shot and killed him.”
 
I was discussing this case with a friend in the medical profession and these were his thoughts as to random vs targeted:

“My OB colleague was shot dead after his patient died on the op table.The husband followed him home in the evening and shot and killed him.”

Wow. I’m starting to wonder if this may be a more common occurrence than I realized.
 
I was discussing this case with a friend in the medical profession and these were his thoughts as to random vs targeted:

“My OB colleague was shot dead after his patient died on the op table.The husband followed him home in the evening and shot and killed him.”
If I were investigating the case I would start investigation with looking into patients that had bad outcomes. Doctor is working in a high risk field. Any malpractice lawsuits? Hopefully police are investigating all possible angles. From random to targeted.
 
Not sure that jacket means anything. Yes, it's hot in TX but this was early in the morning.
Would be more convincing of long time planning if the guy covered his face. He could have wore a helmet, for instance. As it is, the face was not covered other than sunglasses (which look like regular glasses on the sketch).

A person on here from Texas said it has been in the 100 degree of heat. I hardly think morning is very cool.

Do the killers with coats cover their faces? Not so much that I have noticed. The coat or jacket is used to hide a gun
 
This might fit under #1 on the list as "random deranged killer," but another possibility is the killer and victim had a previous altercation on the bike route and the shooting was in revenge.
I think that both motives are possible.

As a side note, the fact that the doctor was selected as the attending physician to a president means he passed a number of background checks for both security concerns and being potential for scandal.

Thus, quirky, potentially high risk lifestyles on the doctor's part such as high levels of personal debt, friendship with criminals, substance use, lawsuit prone, dubious investments, high stakes gambling habit, involvement in love triangles etc. can probably be eliminated.

That leaves, as other posters have mentioned, the two possibilities you listed and the possibility of a dispute stemming from his medical practice.
 
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I think that both motives are possible.

As a side note, the fact that the doctor was selected as the attending physician to a president means he passed a number of background checks. Thus, quirky, potentially high risk lifestyles on the victim's part: high levels of personal debt, association with criminals, substance use, lawsuit / dispute prone, participates in dubious investments etc. can probably be eliminated.

That leaves, as other posters have mentioned, the two possibilities you listed and the possibility of a dispute stemming from his medical practice.

This is a great point. I do want to add that based on the articles I’ve read, he treated President H.W. Bush back in 2000. I’m not aware if he has treated the President since then. However, I doubt he would of gotten involved in risky situations afterwards, especially so close to retirement. By all accounts he was a brilliant doctor and a good man.

ETA: some of my neighbors here have stated that Dr. Hausknecht was their cardiologist and that he was a caring, kind and very skilled doctor. I’ve seen some rumors on the message board as well about it for sure being a hit but for now, those remain rumors as I have no idea how these people would be so certain to insist they know it was a hit.
 
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This case reminds me of the one where the guy was prescribed an acne medicine and took it once, then blamed the doctor for all his life problems. I think he claimed that the medication made him impotent or something?
Then years later he showed up at the doctors office and killed him. I can’t remember the names. Anyone know what I’m talking about?
 
However, I doubt he would of gotten involved in risky situations afterwards, especially so close to retirement. By all accounts he was a brilliant doctor and a good man.

I think that this is a very good assessment.

Anybody capable of passing the presidential association security / scandal check is unlikely to deteriorate later. In addition, such a doctor would be as you said, brilliant and a good man. No medical brilliance mixed with horrible bed side manners, professional arrogance, or a "living large" type personality.
 
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A person on here from Texas said it has been in the 100 degree of heat. I hardly think morning is very cool.

Do the killers with coats cover their faces? Not so much that I have noticed. The coat or jacket is used to hide a gun
As a person who also lived in TX, in this very area we are discussing, people are wearing all kind of things, even jackets, despite the heat. I have seen people walking around in UGG boots in the middle of the summer. Even if the suspect wore the jacket to carry or hide the gun, doesn't mean it was pre-planned to kill the doctor. Maybe he goes around carrying his gun anywhere he goes. There is a potential for this being a random crime. Maybe they almost collided and that made the suspect angry, for instance.
 
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I agree that this likely to be targeted and, if so, that there’s a pretty small menu of reasons.

As for the vetting guarantee of a great doctor and a good man, it sure seems like he was, but the recent case of Ronny Johnson suggests the two don’t always go together. And cardiologists are their own breed (I speak from professional experience here).
 
I think that both motives are possible.

As a side note, the fact that the doctor was selected as the attending physician to a president means he passed a number of background checks for both security concerns and being potential for scandal.

Thus, quirky, potentially high risk lifestyles on the doctor's part such as high levels of personal debt, friendship with criminals, substance use, lawsuit prone, dubious investments, high stakes gambling habit, involvement in love triangles etc. can probably be eliminated.

That leaves, as other posters have mentioned, the two possibilities you listed and the possibility of a dispute stemming from his medical practice.
Not that I am saying doctor was any of those things, but being around the president or being selected to treat the president doesn't necessarily mean there is no potential for scandal. I mean, look at what is going on now.
 
The door is wide open for a lot of scenarios, none have been ruled out. We are trying to pinpoint the more likely scenario given the information we do have.

Perhaps some people do purposely wear jackets and Uggs in the summer time here. It’s been so oppressively hot the past several days, there has been a heat advisory issued from noon to 9pm and I haven’t seen anyone wearing cooler weather clothing in a long time. I do find it more plausible that the suspect was wearing a jacket to easily hide and access a gun while on his bike.
 
The door is wide open for a lot of scenarios, none have been ruled out. We are trying to pinpoint the more likely scenario given the information we do have.

Perhaps some people do purposely wear jackets and Uggs in the summer time here. It’s been so oppressively hot the past several days, there has been a heat advisory issued from noon to 9pm and I haven’t seen anyone wearing cooler weather clothing in a long time. I do find it more plausible that the suspect was wearing a jacket to easily hide and access a gun while on his bike.
Wearing it to hide the gun doesn't mean pre-meditated to kill the doctor. If it's an individual who always carries the gun he could be using the jacket to hide his gun. So even assuming that's what the jacket is for doesn't mean a pre-planned murder.
 
A few thoughts and opinions:

- of course, and thankfully, most of us do not know how we would react to such a tragedy happening to a spouse. That said, I can understand the wife of this doctor, herself a physician, needing to vent her anguish somewhere like gun control. And for the record I think she is justified in doing so. I would expect some plea for the public to help identify this suspect, but again, I have no idea if I would think to do that myself if I werein her position.

- while the victim was no doubt vetted thoroughly some 18 years ago when he was treating GHWB, that is not to say his interests and behaviors had not evolved in the ensuing years. Certainly our current political situation demonstrates a lower bar of tolerance and acceptance than what was considered high standards in 2000.

- I do think there is some backstory to this, and not necessarily ANYTHING nefarious on the victim’s part. No matter, no one ever deserves to have their life ended in this way.

- I think the bike provided a faster getaway than on foot. I doubt Dr. H was one of only a few bicyclists on the street at that time. I expect there were many as there are numerous medical education programs in the Houston Med Center with hundreds if not thousands of students. A fair amount of them probably use bikes to maneuver that congested traffic area. Rice University students as well would be traveling in that vicinity. It would not be unusual for many of these students to ride bikes. I would expect though that they would notice each other if frequent travelers, so hopefully there are some leads coming from these regulars.

- someone mentioned early on that there have been legal issues encountered by some medical practices. I do not know of what sort these are, but I HAVE heard of such a situation triggering the death of one my own physicians. It It was suspicious, and most likely self-inflicted, but a tragic and untimely death nonetheless.

Hope we hear of an arrest soon.
 
Wearing it to hide the gun doesn't mean pre-meditated to kill the doctor. If it's an individual who always carries the gun he could be using the jacket to hide his gun. So even assuming that's what the jacket is for doesn't mean a pre-planned murder.

This is true. I stated it was easier for him to have a concealed weapon with a jacket.
 
The door is wide open for a lot of scenarios, none have been ruled out. We are trying to pinpoint the more likely scenario given the information we do have.

Perhaps some people do purposely wear jackets and Uggs in the summer time here. It’s been so oppressively hot the past several days, there has been a heat advisory issued from noon to 9pm and I haven’t seen anyone wearing cooler weather clothing in a long time. I do find it more plausible that the suspect was wearing a jacket to easily hide and access a gun while on his bike.
By the way watching a video of police press conference, several people are seen in business suits with jackets (I counted at least three in business suits with jackets on in that weather). So no mater how hot it is, you can't assume people won't be wearing a jacket because of the heat, unless its to hide something.
 

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