Tyler Gragg: Police said he was "ambushed in his vehicle close to where he sometimes resides" after a drug deal took place.
A man's body was found in a car early Monday in what Tulsa police say is the city's 43rd homicide of the year.
Tyler Gragg, 28, apparently was shot just after midnight Sunday night while he was driving a Cadillac, which then crashed into a fire hydrant in the 4900 block of South Norfolk Avenue, Sgt. Dave Walker said.
A passenger in the vehicle was not injured, police said. That person was interviewed by detectives and was released.
Although a motive for the shooting has not been established, investigators said Gragg might have been involved in a drug transaction just before he was killed.
"It is unknown if this transaction has anything to do with the murder; however, shortly after the transaction, the victim (was) ambushed in his vehicle close to where he sometimes resides," Walker said.
Police said that when Gragg tried to drive home after the apparent drug deal, he encountered a small four-door sedan with two men in it.
They exchanged words with Gragg and were standing outside his vehicle after he was shot, police said.
Tim Smith, who lives in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, said a woman who was with Gragg ran to his home for help after the crash.
"She was really hysterical," said Smith, who immediately called the police.
Smith said he was told that the pair had just returned to the area from a nearby fast-food restaurant when they were confronted by men carrying a shotgun and a stun gun.
Gragg was stunned and then shot, Smith said he was told. He then went outside and saw Gragg slumped over in the Cadillac.
"I could tell that he was already dead," he said.
Gragg's Facebook page indicates that he previously had been incarcerated at the L.E. Rader Center, a former juvenile detention center in Sand Springs, and had recently become engaged.
Suspect descriptions were not released by the police.
Anyone with more information about the shooting is asked to contact Crime Stoppers by phone at 918-596-COPS, online at
tulsa world.com/crimestoppers or via text message at CRIMES.
Text tips should begin with "Tip918." Tipsters can be anonymous and could receive a reward.
Kendrick Marshall 918-581-8386
kendrick.marshall@tulsaworld.com
Original Print Headline: Latest killing likely drug-tied
Crime
The plaintiff alleged in a lawsuit that he was made to perform pushups to avoid a ticket or jail.
The most recent assault occurred about 4 a.m. Sept. 7 in the area of the Morrison Apartments.
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