A 90-year-old Morgan Stanley advisor who was arrested last week for allegedly shooting and wounding his co-worker has been fired, a spokeswoman said.
Susan Siering said in an email to Financial Advisor that Leonard Bernstein was terminated from his job with the firm on Friday, a day after the incident. “We are cooperating with the authorities and our thoughts are with our employee,” she said of Christopher Shawn Bayouth, 61, who was shot multiple times in his torso, back, leg and foot by Bernstein, according to a police report by Oklahoma City police officer Travis Ratcliffe.
Ratcliffe said he responded to an assault with a deadly weapon at an office building at 6305 Waterford Blvd. that houses Morgan Stanley. The caller said that his co-worker shot him multiple times, according to the police report. Several other callers reported Bernstein as the suspected shooter, the report said.
Ratcliffe said upon arriving at the scene of the incident, Bayouth was laying on the floor behind his desk, conscious and alert. He noted that several employees were in in the hallways and in offices, and that firefighters and the emergency medical services authority were attending to Bayouth.
“I asked Chris who did this to him, and he replied ‘Leonard Bernstein.’ Chris said Leonard works here, and they are business partners,” Ratcliffe said, further noting that he asked Bayouth what happened prior to the shooting. “He said Leonard said he was going for a walk in the park and shot him.”
Ratcliffe said he noticed several shell casings on the floor of the office, and another officer saw a bullet lying on the floor against the large window at the back of the office. “Chris's bloody clothes were cut off of him and left in the floor of the office as well,” he said.
Bayouth was transported to a local hospital. A spokesperson for OU Health University of Oklahoma Medical Center said they had no listing for Bayouth.
Bayouth has been with Morgan Stanley since 1997, according to BrokerCheck. He began his career with Stifel Nicolaus & Company Incorporated in 1988 and moved to Capital West Securities Inc., in 1995 before joining Morgan Stanley.
The police said that callers reported that, Bernstein calmly left the office and took off in his vehicle after the shooting. He was apprehended during a traffic stop and taken into custody, the report said.
Published reports, including Oklahoma City TV news channel News on 6, reported that witness stated in an affidavit that Bernstein and the victim worked together for nine months, but due to Bernstein’s declining health, he handed over his accounts to his business partner.
Bernstein was taken to police headquarters, interviewed and ultimately booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center, police told News on 6. He was released on a $50,000 bond. He is expected to be charged with shooting with intent to kill, police said.
Bernstein began his career with Morgan Stanley in 1994, according to BrokerCheck. He joined Citigroup Global Markets in 2004 and left in 2007 to rejoin Morgan Stanley, where he stayed for five years before moving to Wells Fargo. In September 2021, he returned to Morgan Stanley.