Tulsa Shooting Victim Knew Gunman, Wife Says

Updated: April 11, 10:53 a.m. EDT: Jeanette Allen believes that her husband, William Allen, 31, who was killed Friday, knew Jake England, the Tulsa World reports. England and Alvin Watts have confessed to the shooting spree in a predominantly black neighborhood of Tulsa that left three dead and two injured.

Updated: April 10, 9:30 a.m. EDT: The Associated Press reports that, according to documents recently obtained, the two suspects arrested in the shooting rampage have confessed. The documents given to the AP on Monday say that 19-year-old Jake England confessed to shooting three people and 32-year-old Alvin Watts confessed to shooting two.

Updated April 9, 1:35 p.m. EDT: The two men suspected in the shooting rampage that terrorized Tulsa's black community over the weekend appeared in court today and had bond set at more than $9 million each. Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32, are being held on suspicion of three counts of first-degree murder, two counts of shooting with the intent to kill and one count of possession of a firearm in the commission of a felony. They will be formally charged at a later date, CBS and the Associated Press report.

Updated April 9, 10:25 a.m. EDT: CNN reports that the two men accused in the shootings will make their first court appearance today as authorities work to determine whether the violence that left three people dead was racially motivated.

Updated April 9, 9:03 a.m. EDT: The Associated Press is reporting that based on comments made by Tulsa shooting suspect Jake England (see below), police are saying the shootings might have been revenge for the fatal shooting of England's father by a black man, although police and the FBI say it's too early to determine if the recent shootings in a black Tulsa neighborhood were racially motivated. Friends of England told the Tulsa World that England, who has been variously described in public records as white or Native American, was unable to cope with his father's death and his girlfriend's recent suicide.

Updated April 8, 5:07 p.m. EDT: One of the men arrested in the Good Friday shooting that left three black men dead and two critically injured in Tulsa reportedly posted racist comments on his Facebook page prior to the shootings. Jake England, 19, posted comments about the two-year anniversary of his father's death, the Tulsa World reported. England wrote: "Today is two years that my dad has been gone shot by a f------- n----- its hard not to go off between that and sheran I'm gone in the head."

Updated April 8, 7:49 a.m. EDT: Two men have been arrested in the Tulsa shootings that left three men dead and two others critically injured Friday. A Tulsa police spokesman, Jason Willingham, told the Associated Press that the men, identified as 19-year-old Jake England and 32-year-old Alvin Watts, were arrested early Sunday and would be charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of shooting with intent to kill. Police told the Associated Press they are still looking for a motive behind what appears to be random shootings.

Updated April 7, 6:17 p.m. EDT: A task force called "Operation Random Shooter" had been formed to solicit leads, gather evidence and conduct interviews about the shootings in which all of the victims were black, reports CNN. About 30 representatives from the Tulsa police, Tulsa County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Marshals Service and the FBI were assigned to it. Prior to the arrest, Tulsa's police Chief Chuck Jordan had this message for the shooters: "We're coming for you."

Earlier:

A shooting spree on Friday in a predominantly black section of Tulsa, Okla., has left the community on edge as police search for a suspect. The incident left three dead and two critically injured, according to the Associated Press. The shootings all occurred within a three-mile span of each other, and all five victims were out walking when they were shot.

Police are reportedly looking for a white man driving a white pickup truck that was seen in the vicinity of three of the shootings.

From the Associated Press:

"We have to handle this because there are a number of African-American males who are not going to allow this to happen in their neighborhood," the Rev. Warren Blakney Sr., president of the Tulsa NAACP, told the Associated Press. "We're trying to quell the feeling of 'let's get someone' and we will make as certain as we can that this isn't pushed under the rug."

Four of the five victims were reportedly found in yards and the fifth was found in the street. Police said they don't believe the victims knew each other or shared any connection.

Read more at the Associated Press.

Like The Root on Facebook. Follow us on Twitter.

 

Tweet