Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Authorities are hunting for a man suspected of killing his aunt and uncle, shooting two police officers, stealing a patrol car and carjacking other vehicles in a violent rampage in the Oklahoma City area, all while apparently taunting law enforcement via social media.
The officers were shot Sunday night as they responded to a report of shots fired in the town of Wellston, 35 miles northeast of Oklahoma City, according to the Lincoln County Sheriff's Office. The officers' injuries weren't life-threatening, and both are expected to recover, said Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Jessica Brown.
The sheriff's department said one person was arrested after the shooting but that a second suspect, 38-year-old Michael Vance, fled in a patrol car.
Vance is suspected of later shooting at a woman and stealing her vehicle at a mobile home park near Wellston, then driving 8 miles to the home of his aunt and uncle in Luther, and killing them, Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office spokesman Mark Opgrande said.
Officers found the bodies of Ronald Everett Wilkson, 55, and Valerie Kay Wilkson, 54, at their mobile home Sunday evening, Opgrande said.
Opgrande said authorities also believe Vance posted two live videos Sunday night on Facebook documenting his run from police before he went to the home of his aunt and uncle.
In one video, a man wearing a backward baseball cap and a shirt that appears to be covered in blood says he's about to steal another vehicle and that it's "gonna be intense." In another that seems to be filmed inside a second vehicle, the same man says: "Letting y'all know, look, this is real," before panning across the vehicle to show a long gun on the passenger seat.
He said: "If you want to know what's up next, stay tuned to your local news."
Ronald Wilkson's body was discovered outside the mobile home with a bullet wound and stab wounds to his neck "consistent with an attempt to sever his head," Oklahoma County Sheriff's Deputy Michael Belanger wrote in an arrest affidavit.
Valerie Wilkson was found inside the mobile home with similar wounds to her neck along with defensive wounds on her arms, the affidavit states.
Investigators found a large knife covered in blood inside the home, along with a blood-stained shirt that Vance appeared to be wearing when he filmed the Facebook videos. Authorities also found two shell casings from a round typically fired from an AK-47-style assault rifle.
An Oklahoma County judge issued an arrest warrant Monday for Vance for two counts of first-degree murder, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and possession of a firearm after former conviction of a felony.
Vance also is suspected of shooting a man at a convenience store in an attempted carjacking early Monday morning in the western Oklahoma town of Sayre, about 30 miles from the Texas border. Sayre Police Chief Ronnie Harrold said the man, who was shot in the leg at the Flying J Travel Plaza about 2:30 a.m. Monday, identified Vance as the man who shot him.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says authorities believe Vance is driving a silver 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse with an Oklahoma license plate of 943LQQ. Vance is described as Native American, standing 5 feet 11 inches tall and weighing 212 pounds.
Court records show Vance faces felony charges of child sexual abuse in Lincoln County from an incident in July.
___
This story has been corrected to show that the bodies of the suspect's aunt and uncle were found at their mobile home in Luther, not inside, and that the vehicle authorities believe Vance is driving is a Mitsubishi Eclipse, not a Mitsubishi Escape.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
