Sunday, October 13th 2013, 7:59 pm
Witnesses at the Green Country Event Center say a shooting that left five people wounded was family related. Tulsa Police now have two suspects in custody: 21-year-old Boonmlee Lee and 19-year-old Meng Lee.
Officers arrested the men during the chaos Saturday night. Police say the two opened fire during a New Year's celebration - hosted by members of Tulsa's Hmong Community.
Leaders in the Hmong Community held a special meeting Sunday at the Green Country Event Center to discuss the shooting. They say the center isn't only their headquarters but also the heart of their community.
10/12/2013 Related Story: Five People Shot At A Party Inside East Tulsa Event Center
Linda Lor and other community leaders are discussing new security measures to ensure the events that happened just down the hall - a few hours earlier - aren't repeated.
"The Hmong community has been in Tulsa for more than 30 years, none of this has ever happened," said Hmong community leader Linda Lor. Lor says the event was winding down when panic broke out.
"It happened very very suddenly," she said. "We heard a gun shot; we turn around and people were on the floor."
Nearly 400 people had gathered to celebrate the Hmong New Year, when two men ran in and opened fire in the Banquet Hall.
"We know who they are, but we don't know what their motives is," Lor said.
Sergeant David Walker of the Tulsa Police Department said the men didn't try to hide their identities.
"It wasn't one where they wanted to do it anonymously, there may be something to that," Walker said.
10/13/2013 Related Story: Two Men Arrested In Mass Shooting At Tulsa Event Center
Sergeant Walker says the police helicopter was instrumental in the arrest of Boonmlee Lee and Meng Lee.
"Some of the stuff we recovered, we wouldn't have recovered without the helicopter," he said.
Police say the helicopter picked up a heat signature from the gun that they believe the suspected shooter threw out of the getaway car.
"There were people laying on the floor with blood all over them," said witness Linda Lor.
In all five people were shot. Three have been released from the hospital and the two other are in stable condition
A day removed, members of the Hmong Community are preparing for an upcoming pageant in the same hall where the shooting occurred. Lor says although they don't know the motive, but they know the Lees are cousins.
She also says they were targeting a member of their family.
"The Hmong community will stand strong, and everyone is looking forward to a safe and happy new year," she said.
Community leaders say the shooting wont' keep them from holding events here in the future. The Lee cousins are being held in the Tulsa County Jail on five complaints of shooting with intent to kill.
October 13th, 2013
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