Tulsa Police Still Searching For Gunman From Deadly Woodland Hills Mall Shooting
Tulsa Police are still searching for the gunman who shot and killed a man just outside the entrance to Woodland Hills Mall Tuesday night.
Police say the shooting started with an argument between two people Tuesday night. It gave people at the mall a big scare, with many running for cover inside stores.
Police say they have a pretty good idea of who the shooter is, and they are working to find that person now, so they aren't releasing many details. Police say the shooter and 21-year-old Kierstan Love got into an argument inside the mall, then got into a fight just outside the mall, then Love was shot and killed.
Dozens of Tulsa Police officers flooded Woodland Hills Mall Tuesday night after a call went out for shots fired. Officers initially didn't know if this was an active shooter situation or an isolated incident.
"There were lots and lots of people out there in that area, so as you can imagine, it turned out to be pandemonium. It was chaos,” said Captain Richard Meulenberg with Tulsa Police
Police later learned this was an isolated incident, and the shooter left the mall area after shooting Love. Love was taken to the hospital but later died.
“I couldn't tell you if they were friends, colleagues or associates, but they do know each other, and they apparently had a beef with one another,” said Meulenberg.
The shooting happened feet away from the Northwest entrance to the mall so people inside the mall heard the shots and panicked and hid.
"What we are all unfortunately thinking when this happens is active shooter. The first response any normal person has is, am I in danger? Is this an active shooter? What do I need to do,” said Meulenberg.
Meulenberg says officers didn't evacuate the mall but walked through it to let people know they were safe. Investigators say they have been talking with witnesses and looking at surveillance video to figure out what happened. Meulenberg says it’s always dangerous to resolve conflict with a gun, especially at a place like the mall.
"You basically have lost your ability to control your actions,” said Meulenberg. "It is not a political issue about the gun. It is about people who are emotionally unstable, and I say that because this is clearly not logical; it's not logical to get in a fistfight and pull out a gun, shoot someone."
Police are asking anyone who witnessed the shooting last night or has any information about the shooting to call Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.
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