Argument leads to fatal shooting near a neighborhood garage sale, Oklahoma cops say
An Oklahoma man is accused of telling a man to “get off his property,” then shooting him in the back as he walked away, police said.
Rodney Hunter, of Tulsa, has been charged with murder in Indian Country in federal court, according to court records.
McClatchy News was unable to locate attorney information for Hunter.
Officers responded around 10:30 a.m. June 8 to reports of a shooting near a garage sale, the Tulsa Police Department said in a Facebook post.
Officers arrived to find the suspected shooter, Rodney Hunter, rendering aid to the victim, according to police.
Witnesses told police an argument broke out because the victim was standing on the curb in Hunter’s yard, according to a probable cause affidavit.
“Hunter came outside and told him to get off his property,” court records state.
Hunter followed the man as he walked away from his property and shot him in the back, according to court records.
Hunter took his pistol inside his house and came back to “render aid to the victim,” police said.
The victim was taken to a local hospital where he died shortly after arrival, police said.
Court records state the victim was unarmed and “didn’t do anything to Hunter besides argue with him.”
Lt. Brandon Watkins with the Tulsa Police Department told KOKI it doesn’t appear that the men knew each other before the incident.
“It sounds like the victim was just in the neighborhood with another person who we still need to find, and an altercation started,” Watkins told the station.
The Tulsa Police Department said Hunter falls under the McGirt ruling, which states that Oklahoma has no legal jurisdiction in crimes committed on land controlled by the state’s Five Tribes, so he can only be prosecuted in tribal court or federal court.
This story was originally published June 11, 2024 at 9:17 AM with the headline "Argument leads to fatal shooting near a neighborhood garage sale, Oklahoma cops say."
