An armed man and woman who stormed the Tulsa County Courthouse Monday night and burned two vehicles, killing two people, were among two people shot dead in Tulsa, Oklahoma, authorities said.
A Tulsa police officer shot and killed an armed man who broke into a building during a riot outside the courthouse, Tulsa Police Chief Brian Swanton said Tuesday morning.
The man and his accomplice were wounded and arrested at a local motel, Swanton told a news conference.
The officer and the accomplice have been identified as Eric Johnson, who was a 24-year-old man who was born in Oklahoma City, and Terence Crutcher, 32, who died at the scene.
Johnson and Crutchers had been in a relationship, Swanto said, and had been staying at the motel.
Johnson was armed with a handgun and tried to storm into the courthouse on Monday night, Swatton said, adding that a deputy with the Tulsa Police Department’s SWAT team had responded to the scene with a shotgun.
The officer who shot Crutches was wounded and taken to the hospital, Swarton said.
No charges were filed against Johnson or Cruthers.
The shooting happened just after midnight Monday when officers from multiple agencies, including the Tulsa Sheriff’s Department, arrived to the area.
Johnson told the officers that he was in the building and that he needed to get out, Swannon said.
Johnson got into the building, ran out of the building through a door, and then into the parking lot, Swanoneson said, while still holding the gun to the man’s head.
Johnson was shot several times, he said.
The deputy who shot Johnson told investigators that the two men were armed with an assault rifle and a shotgun, Swannaon said at a news briefing.
The deputy was also injured, but was expected to survive, Swananon said