Teen Shooting Victim Unintended Target Of Growing Gang Violence, TPD Says

A 16-year-old girl was murdered in Tulsa's recent gang violence.

Police said Deouijanae Terry was in the passenger seat of a car with her boyfriend, when shooters aiming for him, shot and killed her instead.

7/20/2015 Related Story: Tulsa Police Name Teenage Girl Killed In Drive-By Shooting

Detectives said she's the third unintended target killed in recent weeks.

They said it's because the Hoover Crips, Tulsa's largest gang, are fighting with three smaller gangs that have banded together against the Hoovers.

Terry had already lost her baby daughter to SIDS, and now her life has been cut short because of gang violence.

Police said she was riding with her boyfriend Friday afternoon in a PT Cruiser when a van pulled up next to them and someone fired more than a dozen shots. They said he was the target, but they killed Terry instead.

"It's sad, a sad commentary where we're at right now with these killings. Shooting people 6-8 feet away from another victim, is not a good thing," said Tulsa Police Sergeant, Dave Walker.

He said the man killed on East Latimer and another killed at a car wash were all unintended targets of the growing gang violence.

While three lives have been taken recently, Tulsa Police are quick to point out the average Tulsa citizen is rarely affected by the gang violence.

Sergeant Sean Larkin said, “If you're not involved in a street gang, if you don't run around with a street gang or not associated with a gang, the likelihood of you falling victim to gang violence is slim to none."

They said they often know who did it and can even make the arrest, the trouble is getting the cases  to stick.

They said people refuse to testify and charges get dropped, which leads to more shootings, and the cycle continues.

"If we already arrested them once and somebody in the public had a chance to testify and chose not to, then shame on them," Walker said.

Police said they find other ways to put gang members away, a lot of times through gun or drug charges.

Recently, in the case of Neville Ewell, a domestic assault case sent him to prison for five years. Police said he was a ringleader directing younger guys to do violence.

"Him off the streets will have an impact," Larkin said.

Police said they’re still looking for the person who killed Terry and would appreciate any information about who did it and where they are.

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They said they don't want to see another killing in the ongoing feud.