Shooter at large
The Love County Sheriff’s Office in Oklahoma has announced police are looking for a suspect who fled WinStar World Casino after a fatal shooting reportedly in the casino parking lot.
Sheriff Andy R. Cumberledge stated on social media that “shots were fired around 2:30am local time on Saturday morning.”
man who was shot later died in the hospital
The Sheriff confirmed that one man fled the scene while the man who was shot later died in the hospital.
Because the incident occurred at the Chickasaw Nation-owned casino and was on tribal property, Chickasaw Lighthorse Police will investigate the crime.
“We have full confidence in our partners at the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police and will remain available should they need anything from our agency in the investigation,” stated Cumberledge.
Public reacts
According to news reports from Oklahoma media, police have disclosed no motive for the crime and the shooter remains at large.
Public reaction to Sheriff Cumberledge’s Facebook post, however, included more detail, including the alleged scene of the shooting, “just outside the casino in the parking lot.”
Family man, great father, amazing basketball talent.”
Other people claimed they knew the victim and expressed their condolences. One commenter stated: “Loss for words to lose a friend who was like a brother. Family man, great father, amazing basketball talent. This is a tragedy.”
Another said the victim’s family “is devastated” and he hopes the police “capture the person who committed this crime quickly and that his trial is speedy.”
Federal or tribal?
The Sheriff’s office also responded to a question from its Facebook post when someone asked if the crime should now fall under federal investigation instead of tribal because the victim died.
Love County replied that there were many factors in play that would determine that.
“If the charges are to be presented federally, all of the agencies in Love County can do that. So it wouldn’t technically be a ‘federal investigation,’ it would just be presented to the feds for prosecution (if the factors dictate that).”
While the Chickasaw are empowered to enforce the law on their lands and territories, and tribal police have jurisdiction over most non-felony crimes, the feds typically pursue homicides.
