Tulsa - The gunman is dead after shooting a victim at a Tulsa Hills Shopping center hair salon.
The suspect, Charles Walker, 27, was found dead inside SportClips. A female victim was taken to an area hospital in serious condition.
It happened at Tulsa Hills, located just off Highway 75 at 71st Street. Police were called to the scene at about 3:30 p.m. after a report of shots fired. When they arrived, they were able to speak with the victim, a 29-year-old female.
The woman told police that Walker came into the SportClips and shot her in the neck, then shot himself. The victim was taken by ambulance to a Tulsa hospital in serious condition.
Police later set up outside the SportClips, broke out the window and sent the Special Operations Team inside.
According to police, Walker was found dead in a back room with a self-inflicted wound.
Court records show a protective order was filed against the suspect just yesterday. Both parties had filed protective orders against each other.
John Bryant was heading into SportClips with his son to get a haircut when customers inside the salon came pouring out.
"They told us don't go in there, they said do not go in there that he had mumbled something about everybody needs to get out and if the cops show up there's going to be trouble," says Bryant.
"He was armed with gun and everybody left except one female at some point during that he shot the female twice," says Jason Willingham with the Tulsa Police Department.
"Showed up walking from the back of the store and she's naked and bleeding everywhere and ran over and tried to help her and applied pressure," says Bryant.
As soon as Walker told everyone to leave the business one employee ran to get help. Tim Smallwood with the Tulsa Fire Department happens to own a smoothie shop two doors down from SportClips.
"One of the workers of the SportClips came running and said hey my boss's boyfriend just kicked us out, he has a gun, please come help us," says Smallwood.
By the time Smallwood got to the scene the victim was being tended to by concerned citizens. When police arrived all the employees were out of the salon and the victim was being transported to the hospital in serious condition.
Then the waiting game began, police weren't even sure if Walker was still inside the salon or if he was dead or alive. The Special Operations Team went inside and nearly 2 hours after the shooting occurred the SOT ran into Walker.
"The suspect had barricaded him inside once the officers made it inside that room found that he was deceased from a self-inflicted wound," says Willingham.
So why did a shooting go down in the middle of a busy Tulsa shopping center? That question has yet to be answered, but a relationship between the two may have something to do with it.
"They were fine a couple of weeks ago I guess they broke up on Monday and she tried to put a restraining order and then she moved, she changed her cell phone number and he came here to find her I guess," says Miklynne Easley, a co-worker to the victim at SportClips.
The victim is still listed in serious condition.
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