On Thursday, a shooter in Oklahoma injured at least four people and was then shot and killed by an armed citizen. The Oklahoma City Police has stated that the man entered the restaurant Louie’s Grill & Bar in Oklahoma City around 6:30 p.m., and that one of the victims was afterward “taken to a hospital with serious injuries.” The man was then confronted, shot and killed by an armed bystander on the restaurant’s parking lot with a handgun.
The only death related to the incident was the shooter’s. According to Police Captain Bo Matthews, a woman and a girl who were shot and wounded in the incident have undergone surgery and are expected to survive and fulfill a complete recovery. They were afterward confirmed by a KOCO reporter to have been a mother and daughter who were celebrating a birthday at the restaurant. The police department has also stated that there has been no “indication of terrorism” so far by the armed citizen who confronted the shooter. As of now, the shooting is still under investigation and the shooter is still unidentified. The intentions of the shooter, as well as whether he had a relationship with the victims, are also currently unknown.
When addressing the subject to CNN, Matthews remarked the little information that the police department had on the incident, since it is so early on in the investigation. However, he did state that the man was using ear protection and that the investigators will look for his fingerprints and proceed to look for the shooter’s social media activity after having identified him. Referring to the man who confronted the shooter, the captain stated that, “Right now, all I know is that it was just a good Samaritan that was there and looks like he took the right measures to be able to put an end to a terrible, terrible incident”.
KFOR, a CNN affiliate, was told by witness Ron Benton, “[the shooter] was just a 20-something-year-old kid. Didn’t look very old. He was wearing ear protection and eye protection that you would have at a shooting range.” He proceeded to say that the man who stopped the shooter afterward was someone who clearly “had some weapon training” and thought he was probably an off-duty officer. According to Benton, the man was in his car and went outside of the vehicle after hearing the gunshots, and that he went back into his vehicle to get the pistol.
Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt tweeted that he has been communicating with the City Manager & the Police Chief, followed by the statement that, “As OCPD has reported, the suspect is dead.” He concluded by asking for Oklahoma citizens to East Warf, not only for safety issues but also to facilitate the current ongoing investigation.
The National Rifle Association also released a statement on Twitter regarding the incident, stating that they hope the incident will serve “as a wake-up call for [Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin], who just two weeks ago vetoed a constitutional carry bill,” as well as an example for “how the best way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.” Their mention of Gov. Fallin makes reference to her decision to vote against a bill that would have allowed for Oklahoma’s citizens to carry a gun without a permit. While explaining the reasoning for her procedure, Fallin stressed that, despite being a Republican, she still stresses the importance of firearm training requirements and solid background check rules, which the bill was proposing to eliminate. She continued by highlighting the importance of the state’s law enforcers’ ability to identify gun-holders who have been properly trained and those who have not.
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