Shooting suspect arrested
A 15-year-old male is in police custody following the shooting at a Choctaw High School football game last week.
Sheriff Tommie Johnson says the teenager was arrested following a joint investigation by Choctaw and Oklahoma City Police, as well as the US Marshals and Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Office. The arrest warrant for the suspect was executed Tuesday evening - four days after the shooting which killed 16-year old Cordae Carter, a Midwest City High School Student, and two others were injured.
The suspect is facing 2nd degree murder charges. Choctaw police told reporters they had confirmed the suspect’s identity the morning after the shooting. Meanwhile, Sheriff Johnson declined to give reporters details about a 42-year-old man who was shot in the chest by an off duty Del City Police officer - including his name or an update on his condition. He says that investigation continues.
Also Wednesday, Mid-Del Public Schools superintendent Rick Cobb released an open letter to the Oklahoma Secondary Schools Activities Association calling for uniform event security guidelines across the state.
Kingfisher Public Schools lawsuit
A lawsuit filed Monday alleges abuse at Kingfisher Public Schools and says the Oklahoma State Department of Education and State Superintendent Ryan Walters should have acted to stop it.
The suit claims students at Kingfisher Public Schools have been in danger for over a decade, and it asks the Oklahoma Supreme Court to order the state department to remove the football coach at the center of the case.
The suit stems from another case currently playing out in courts, which alleges Kingfisher High School football coach Jeff Myers enabled and encouraged brutal hazing events, sexual abuse and bullying - including a locker room “fight ring.” The parents filing that suit are the petitioners in the new suit, saying the original case’s trial isn’t until December and that kids are in immediate danger in the meantime.
According to the case filing, the petitioners sent a letter to the state department in January of 2022, pleading the department to intervene. But over a year later, it says there’s been no indication the department has done anything. Walters’ office responded, saying QUOTE, “It is absolutely ridiculous to name Superintendent Walters in a lawsuit that purports to cite issues that preceded his term.”
New Seminole County sheriff
Following the resignation of their former sheriff, the Seminole County commissioners have appointed a temporary replacement. KGOU’s Hannah France has more.
Seminole Nation Lighthorse Police Sergeant Anthony Louie has been appointed as the interim sheriff of Seminole County. He will fill the position until the next election cycle. Shannon Smith announced his resignation last week amid an investigation by the Attorney General’s office and accusations that he misappropriated funds from the Seminole County Sheriff Deputy Association Fund.
Smith’s resignation, along with not seeking employment in law enforcement for two years and paying more than $2,500 in restitution are part of an agreement with the state to not press charges against him. Undersheriff Matt Healy also announced his resignation last week. His replacement has not yet been appointed.
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