LAWTON, Okla_While his killer remains at large, tonight more is known about the 17 year old boy who was killed this weekend in Lawton, after he was shot in the back of the head.
Police said the victim of Saturday morning's shooting was not from Lawton, but lived in Texas. He had only been in Lawton for a couple of weeks, and was here visiting relatives.
Investigators said they know a lot more than they are willing to talk about and more than likely it won't be released until an arrest or arrests have been made. When it comes to a murder investigation like this one, any details about what happened, if made public, could compromise their case.
While he couldn't tell is exactly what unfolded that caused the death of a young teen, Lawton Police Captain Craig Akard was able to tell us how the victim got there.
"He had been at a house over there with some of his friends."
Police aren't sure if the friends were hanging out or partying but do know that at one point the friends along with the victim left.
"He had left the house and they were walking along the street."
Akard said that street is where they believe the victim was killed. While investigators continue to search for answers, coming up with them hasn't been so easy.
"You have to understand we got the phone call at 4:30am in the morning. Probably the vast majority of the neighborhood was asleep. There probably was not a whole lot of people to see it in the first place."
While a suspect's description hasn't been made known, or if there was more than one person involved, Akard said they've reason to believe gang activity was involved. Another reason he said witnesses may be reluctant to talk.
"If there are other witnesses to that aren't coming forward they are probably scared what could happen, someone could come back after them."
Akard said in many violent cases like this one there are often witnesses that don't come forward with information that could lead to an arrest. If there are those individuals in this case he encourages them to share what they know with police and said as always they will remain anonymous.
The number to call with information is Crimestoppers at 355-INFO or you can text the word "bust" and your information to the number 274637.
