Police: Doctor shot, killed at medical clinic in southeastern Ky.; suspect in custody

Doctor shot to death at rural Ky. medical clinic

CORNETTSVILLE, Ky. — A “disgruntled patient” fatally shot a doctor Tuesday at a southeastern Kentucky health clinic and was later arrested, officials said.

John Combs was arrested after the shooting of Dr. Dennis Sandlin, who was killed about 11:40 a.m., said Kentucky State Police Trooper Tony Watts. Watts could not say what charges Combs faces or provide his age. Combs was being held in the Perry County Detention Facility.

“A disgruntled patient entered the Mountain Comprehensive Health Corp.’s Leatherwood/Blackey primary care clinic at Cornettsville, Ky., and confronted Dr. Dennis Sandlin,” said Michael Caudill, CEO of Mountain, which operates the rural clinic.

The patient left without harming anyone else, Caudill said.

Watts did not say what prompted the shooting or if there was any relationship between the two men.

Perry County deputy jailer Richard Dillion said Combs, of the Redfox community in Knott County, had not yet been charged and he was awaiting paperwork from police.

Caudill said employees were shocked by the death of Sandlin, who was well-liked and had worked as a primary care physician at the clinic since 1990.

“It’s got us kind of back on our heels right now,” Caudill said.

Sandlin graduated from the University of Louisville Medical School and had been a doctor in Kentucky since 1978. His license was in good standing with the state board. He concentrated his practice on older patients with chronic illnesses and was very active in Hospice, Caudill said.

Mountain Comprehensive’s Web site says the nonprofit corporation’s clinic is one of the largest rural health centers in Kentucky.