Tulsa Police Officer, Suspect Wounded In Shooting At QuikTrip

A Tulsa police officer and a suspect were wounded in an officer-involved shooting Tuesday afternoon.

The officer is back home, while the gunman is still in a hospital.

The shooting took place near the QuikTrip at Interstate 44 and Harvard around 1:40 p.m.

The gas pumps at the extremely busy store near I-44 and Harvard were shut down for several hours as officers investigated the shooting.

Many people who were at the QuikTrip say they didn’t know what to do when they heard the gunshots.

“They told us to run, run for cover, so I was right there and they returned fire,” said witness Lauretta Lungsford.

Lungsford says she had just gotten a drink when she heard gunfire.

“It was over 40, 50, 60 gunshots,” she said.

Police say two officers approached the driver of a gold minivan at one of the gas pumps because the tag of the vehicle didn’t match the vehicle it was on.

“The driver of the vehicle was defiant to the officers, wasn’t listening to commands,” said Officer Jeanne MacKenzie.

TPD says the driver told the officers, “You’re going to have to kill me to get me out of this vehicle.”

They say that’s when officers reached for their pepperball guns, but the suspect went for a real gun and shot at officers.  Police say the officers returned fire, hitting the suspect in the chest.

In the exchange, one of the officers was hit in the leg.

“When officers got here, the driver was hanging out of the sliding door of the minivan.  They pulled him out of the minivan and they began medical treatment,” said Officer MacKenzie.

The suspect and an officer were taken to the hospital.

Police said there was a woman in the van with the suspect. She was not hit.

Detectives took the woman in the minivan to the police station for questioning.

Nearby cars getting gas were also hit by stray bullets, but no one was hurt.

Witnesses say it was a lot to process and they hope the officer is okay.

“I’m praying for the family,” said Nikki McClendon.  “My dad is a retired patrolman and I have a brother who’s active and this is something that you just don’t ever want to hear.”

McClendon says she saw the officers approach the car and she was nervous for their safety.

“I seriously had the thought, ‘I hope nothing bad happens,’ and then it did,” she said.  “It’s jarring but, unfortunately, it’s the world we live in now.”