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Arch Surg. 2001;136:1323.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

IN 1969, during my last year of residency in the United States, I was chief resident in surgery at St Luke's Hospital (Bethlehem, Pa). One night, a 37-year-old man arrived in a critical state at the emergency department with multiple bullet wounds. This man, whom we will call Joe, had worked for a number of years at the Bethlehem Post Office but had to leave the job because of a severe mental disorder that made him act strangely on occasion.

One Sunday afternoon, Joe arrived at the post office carrying a .12 caliber rifle and asking for the head of the post office because he wanted to kill him. Fortunately, the boss was not there, and Joe left in a rage to find him. The workers called the police. I was having lunch on the third floor of 555 Springer St with my wife when we heard the police sirens . . . [Full Text of this Article]