Man who killed doctor had blamed him for mother's death

BOSTON (AP) — A man who walked into a leading hospital, asked for a cardiac surgeon by name and fatally shot him outside an examination room had been upset about his mother's death and had blamed the doctor for it, relatives said.

Gunman Stephen Pasceri entered Brigham and Women's Hospital on Tuesday morning seeking Dr. Michael Davidson and then shot him twice, police said. He then killed himself, and officers found his body with the weapon shortly afterward.

Pasceri's sister and brother said Wednesday they were shocked by his actions and believe he held Davidson responsible for the November death of their mother, who had heart and lung problems.

This Oct. 24, 2006 photo provided by Mainframe Photographics, shows Michael J. Davidson, director of endovascular cardiac surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, who died late Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, after being shot inside the hospital earlier that day. Police said Stephen Pasceri, 55, of Millbury, Mass., entered the hospital late Tuesday morning, requested to see the doctor, shot him twice just outside a second floor examination room, then shot himself to death. (AP Photo/Mainframe Photographics, Susan R. Symonds)

Marguerite Joly told the Boston Herald her mother, Marguerite Pasceri, was Davidson's patient and her brother and the doctor had had "a fine relationship." She said she doesn't know why her brother snapped.

"I think it comes down to the fact that my brother thought it was the doctor's fault that my mother died," Joly said.

Gregory Pasceri told The Boston Globe his brother, who was from Millbury, recently learned about a lung medication the doctor prescribed for his mother, which his brother believed caused a fatal complication.

"It really destroyed my brother," Gregory Pasceri said. "I had no idea he was going to take it to that extreme."

Four of Davidson's colleagues said he was a doting father and a caring doctor and mentor who also played in a rock band with co-workers.

"You should all be assured that Michael Davidson was one of the kindest and best physicians and men that ever walked on this earth," said Dr. Andrew Eisenhauer, an interventional cardiologist. "We knew that, his patients knew that and his family knew that."

Earlier Wednesday, hospital employees held a memorial service at the main entrance and lowered the hospital's logo flag to half-staff.

Brigham and Women's president Betsy Nabel said the hospital would evaluate its safety protocols.

The hospital, which is affiliated with Harvard, said it was "truly devastating" that Davidson's life was taken "in this horrible manner."

"Dr. Davidson was a wonderful and inspiring cardiac surgeon who devoted his career to saving lives and improving the quality of life of every patient he cared for," the hospital said in a statement.

Davidson had worked there since 2006 and was an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School.

His funeral is Friday at Temple Beth Elohim in Wellesley, where he lived with his wife, plastic surgeon Terri Halperin, and their children, ages 9, 7 and 2. Colleagues said Halperin is seven months pregnant with the couple's fourth child.

This 2004 photo shows Steve Pasceri, at Millbury Federated Church, in Millbury, Mass. According to police, Pasceri shot a cardiologist Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, inside Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, and then turned the gun on himself. (AP Photo/Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Tim Doiron)

Brigham and Women's Hospital doctors, from the left, Primary Care Physician Charles Morris, Interventional Cardiologist Andrew Eisenhauer, Thoracic Surgeon Daniel Wiener, and Interventional Cardiologist Pinak Shah, appear emotional as they face members of the media Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, while remembering Michael J. Davidson, director of endovascular cardiac surgery at the hospital, in Boston. Officials at the hospital said Davidson died late Tuesday after being fatally wounded around 11 a.m. by a gunman who then killed himself. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Brigham and Women's Hospital doctors, from the left, Primary Care Physician Charles Morris, Interventional Cardiologist Andrew Eisenhauer, and Thoracic Surgeon Daniel Wiener, appear emotional as they speak to members of the media Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, while remembering Michael J. Davidson, director of endovascular cardiac surgery during a news conference at the hospital, in Boston. Officials at the hospital said Davidson died late Tuesday after being fatally wounded around 11 a.m. by a gunman who then killed himself. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Brigham and Women's Hospital doctors, Primary Care Physician Charles Morris, left, and Interventional Cardiologist Andrew Eisenhauer, right, appear emotional as they speak with members of the media Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, while remembering Michael J. Davidson, director of endovascular cardiac surgery during a news conference at the hospital, in Boston. Officials at the hospital said Davidson died late Tuesday after being fatally wounded around 11 a.m. by a gunman who then killed himself. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Brigham and Women's Hospital Primary Care Physician Charles Morris, center, walks past members of the media, left, following a news conference Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2015, during which Morris and fellow doctors shared memories of slain Cardiac Surgeon Michael J. Davidson at the hospital, in Boston. Officials at the hospital said Davidson died late Tuesday after being shot around 11 a.m. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)