Arrest warrant issued in quadruple homicide near Hennessey
Authorities are still scouring the massive grow facility where four were shot dead and one injured Sunday night. [Photo Provided]
UPDATE: (11/21/22 5:05 p.m.) The suspect had not been apprehended by 5 p.m. Monday, but Sheriff Dennis Banther said “I'm certain he isn’t in our area, though.” Authorities still have not publically identified the suspect named in the arrest warrant, other than to say that he's an Asian male.
Four people have been confirmed dead and another seriously injured after a shooting Sunday at a marijuana grow location near Lacey.
Kingfisher County Sheriff Dennis Banther told the Times & Free Press that a warrant for the arrest of a suspect was issued about 10:45 a.m. Monday at the request of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, which was called in to assist Sunday night.
Banther confirmed that the suspect and the five victims are Asians with ties to the grow facility and the gun violence arose in connection with an internal dispute and was not a random shooting.
Authorities are searching for the male suspect, but his name and identifying information has not yet been made available.
“We’ve begun the process of figuring out where he may have gone to,” Banther said.
The sheriff’s office received a call about 7:24 p.m. Sunday of a potential hostage situation on the scene. Once deputies arrived and attempted to secure the location on N 2760 Road, Banther said they discovered an individual with gunshot wounds. That individual received medical attention and was eventually flown to a hospital by helicopter.
Once deputies searched other scenes on the property, four other people were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds, Banther said.
“We immediately called in the OSBI for assistance with interviews and to work the crime scene because it’s such a large area,” Banther said. The sheriff noted he counted more than 80 grow houses on the property.
Also on the scene were Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Hennessey Fire Department, Life EMS, Air Evac Lifeteam and a medical examiner.
Banther said a Chinese interpreter was also brought to the location to interview witnesses at the scene who were not injured.
Investigators and crime scene technicians were able to begin more thorough work at about 3 a.m. when a search warrant was secured for two of the locations.More search warrants could be secured later Monday, Banther said.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.