In the late hours of a December night in Oklahoma City, a chaotic scene unfolded that would leave a 36-year-old Black male named Dione Prince dead. On December 20, 2022, just before midnight, both police and firefighters were dispatched to an apartment complex located in the 7200 block of NW 122nd Street. Emergency services were responding to simultaneous reports of gunshots and a fire at the location.
Upon their arrival, the connection between the two calls became apparent.
Investigators believe that Prince had thrown several Molotov cocktails into one of the apartments in the complex. In fact, this was the second time that day that the fire department had been called to that specific apartment for an incendiary device that had been thrown through a window. It was after he allegedly threw the final firebomb that he was shot by an individual at the complex.
Following the shooting, Prince attempted to flee the scene in his vehicle. However, his escape was short-lived. A few minutes after the initial incident, a shooting victim was discovered inside a car that had crashed and left the roadway in the 11500 block of North Rockwell, about eight blocks from the apartment complex. The victim, identified as Dione Prince, was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead from his gunshot wounds.
The investigation into the death of Dione Prince was classified as the 72nd homicide in Oklahoma City for that year. In the immediate aftermath, authorities interviewed individuals at the apartment complex to piece together the events of that night. As of late December 2022, the case remained unsolved, and no arrests had been made in connection with the shooting. The Oklahoma City Police Department has asked for anyone with information regarding the incident to contact their Homicide Tip-Line.
