2 dead in suspected road rage shootings in Oklahoma

Published 7:50 am Friday, December 18, 2015

TULSA, Okla. — A man sped through three counties in the night while firing randomly from his pickup truck, hitting at least four vehicles and killing two people on an Oklahoma interstate, police said. A man authorities said was the only person being investigated surrendered early Thursday and was being held in jail.

Custer County Sheriff Bruce Peoples said reports came in at about 11:50 p.m. Wednesday of a man firing at vehicles on Interstate 40 in Canadian County, which is adjacent to Oklahoma City. The man apparently continued driving west, firing at vehicles as he drove fast and erratically, the sheriff said.

“He shot so many vehicles that it would have been totally impractical to assume he knew them,” Peoples said, describing the case as a suspected road rage incident.

Email newsletter signup

A man was fatally shot in the Caddo County town of Hydro and a woman was killed 10 miles away in Weatherford, authorities said. In both cases, the drivers were able to pull over to the shoulder of the road after the shooting, Peoples said.

The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation identified the first victim as 45-year-old Jeffrey Kent Powell of Arapaho. He was traveling with his wife, who was not struck. The agency identified the second victim as 63-year-old Billie Jean West of Lone Wolf.

The suspected shooter surrendered after a 25-mile chase shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday in Custer County, Peoples said.