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Tips Led To Tulsa Shooting Suspects' Arrests; Police Say They've Confessed

The key moment in the manhunt for suspects in a murder spree that terrorized African-Americans in Tulsa, Okla., came Saturday morning when a tip was called in to the city's Crime Stoppers hotline, the Tulsa World says.

The caller said 19-year-old Jake England was involved in Friday morning's shootings, which left three people dead and two seriously wounded, as The Associated Press writes.

Then, "over the course of [Saturday], police received dozens of tips about the shootings and a handful that implicated England, including one that said England owned a white pickup and intended to burn it," the World adds.

In "the waning hours of Saturday night," police tracked down England and his alleged accomplice, 33-year-old Alvin Watts.

Now, according to documents filed by police, the men have confessed. They're being held on pay of $9.16 million each. According to the AP, "police have said one motive for the shootings may have been England's desire to avenge his father's fatal shooting by a black man two years ago."

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Mark Memmott
Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.