Joseph James Pappas ID’d as Suspect in Shooting of George H.W. Bush Doctor

By Jack Phillips
August 1, 2018 Last Updated: August 3, 2018
Joseph James Pappas was identified as the suspect who shot and killed the personal doctor of former President George H.W. Bush, Houston police said Aug. 1. (Houston Police Department)

Joseph James Pappas was identified as the suspect who shot and killed former doctor of former President George H.W. Bush, Houston police said Aug. 1.

Dr. Mark Hausknecht was shot and killed on July 20 as he rode a bicycle to work at the Texas Medical Center.

“Pappas is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous,” said the Houston Police on Twitter.

Pappas’s mother apparently died during surgery in which Hausknecht was involved in more than 20 years ago, and they believe it is the motive in the shooting, said Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo in a live news conference.

According to real estate website Har.com, a man with the name Joseph James Pappas is listed as “a licensed real estate service provider in Houston, Texas,” and he owns the Pappas Realty Company.

Police executed a search warrant at a home owned by Pappas, 62, and he was not in the home at the time. Police believe that he might be suicidal, Acevedo said.

He hasn’t been seen for 36 to 48 hours, the chief added.

Police urged those with any information about his whereabouts to call 911.

“We have plenty of evidence that ties him to this crime,” Acevedo said. Police took evidence from the home that tied Pappas to the crime.

“We need to find this guy. If he’s committed suicide, we need to find the body,” he added.

The bicycle that was in the crime hasn’t been recovered, Acevedo said, describing it as a 10-speed bicycle.

On July 30, Houston police tweeted a video of the suspect after the shooting.

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Hausknecht was seen by a private ambulance driver who stopped to assist, according to local media outlet ABC13, with paramedics applying CPR. Hausknecht was then transported to Ben Taub Hospital where he was pronounced dead.