This morning, I spoke to a deputy sheriff that is a member of our church. He knew the deputy that shot the gunman at Crossroads and said that the media did not give the whole story.

Here is the story.......This was a fight between two rival gang members that started outside in the parking lot. The one gang member (the one with the gun) actually got beat up out in the parking lot by another rival gang member. During the fight, police and mall security were contacted. After he got beat up, he followed the gangbanger that beat him up, in to the mall.

The gunman then pulled out a 25 automatic hand gun and walked up to the rival gang member that beat him up, and shot him in the chest........the police were right behind him, however, by the time they reached him, he had already shot the other gang member. With weapons drawn, the police officers ordered him to put down his weapon. While standing there, the gunman tried to fire again, but his gun jammed. About that time, a sheriff's deputy, who was working at Crossroads, started down the stairs from the upper level. He noticed the gunman trying to unjam his gun, and then yelled at the gunman to drop his weapon.

The gunman then raised his gun towards another gang member, and the sheriff's deputy, as he was running down the stairs...paused....and took one shot at him, striking him in the back of the head, killing him instantly.

Noboby knows why the two OKC police officers did not fire their weapons at the suspect. After he had shot the one gang member, according to my friend, they had every right to shoot the gunman. If the deputy had not shot the gunman, he would have had the opportunity to shoot at least a few more people. The deputy saved many lives.

Since this was a crime scene, the area was taped off, and most all of the stores in the mall shut down. Here is the bad part. They were not allowed to move the dead gunman, or to cover his body, due to the fact that covering him would contaminate the evidence. They had to leave him on the floor, in a pool of blood, while shoppers were leaving the mall. From what I understand....one mother, with about a 6 year old with her, walked by the dead man's body and commented to her son that that's what happens when you get involved in gangs.