In the opening moments of the new year, a celebration at a rented house in midtown Tulsa turned into a scene of tragedy. On the night of January 1, 2024, 12-year-old Steven Bruner was at a party in a home near 14th and Utica, a property that had been rented through VRBO for the gathering. A group of juveniles and at least one young adult were present when gunfire erupted at approximately 10:30 p.m.
Steven, a male, was on or near the front porch of the residence when the shots were fired from the street toward the house.
Investigators quickly determined that the shooting was not a random act of violence but a targeted attack. They believe the intended targets were other teenagers at the party who had ongoing feuds. Steven was an unintended victim, caught in the crossfire of a dispute that was not his own. The police investigation pointed to a conflict between rival gangs as the underlying motive for the shooting, which claimed the city's first homicide victim of the year. Evidence recovered at the scene included numerous shell casings, indicating the intensity of the assault on the house.
In the wake of the shooting, the Tulsa Police Department began an intensive investigation. Their efforts led to the identification and arrest of multiple suspects. Salathiel Fields and Tajon Figures were accused of firing more than 35 shots at the residence. A third individual, Alvin Chaplin, was identified as the driver for Fields and Figures. The arrests were made possible through surveillance footage from the neighborhood, which captured the suspects' vehicle, and cell phone data that placed them near the scene of the crime around the time of the murder. The case later saw further turmoil when a shooting occurred outside the Tulsa County Courthouse during a preliminary hearing for the suspects, though it did not halt the legal proceedings against those charged with the young boy's death.
