In a tragic turn of events on the evening of October 4, 2022, nine-year-old DuMarcus Wayne Fuller Jr. was killed in a drive-by shooting in Oklahoma City. The young boy was inside his home playing video games when the incident occurred. Police were called to the 2500 block of S.E. 47th Street around 9:07 p.m. Upon arrival, they learned that DuMarcus had been struck by gunfire and was taken to a local hospital in a private vehicle, where he was pronounced dead shortly after.
The Oklahoma City Police Department later identified the victim as DuMarcus Fuller Jr., a Black male, though there was some initial confusion regarding his exact age, with reports stating he was either eight or nine years old.
The investigation into the senseless shooting led authorities to identify four suspects. Shawn Beals was the first to be arrested in December following the incident. Information provided by Beals led investigators to three other individuals. Subsequently, Micah Knighton, Austin Parker, and Michael Williams were also taken into custody. The three were arrested in different states, with Williams apprehended in Little Rock, Arkansas, Parker in Denver, Colorado, and Knighton in Midwest City, Oklahoma. All four men have since been charged with first-degree murder.
Court documents revealed that the drive-by shooting was an act of retaliation, though DuMarcus was not the intended target. The motive appears to be connected to another man who was living in the same house as the child. This individual had allegedly driven a car belonging to one of the suspects that contained drugs and guns. The suspects were reportedly angered by this, leading them to target the residence in a violent act that ultimately claimed the life of an innocent child. Phone records indicated that the four suspects were in communication with each other before and after the fatal shooting.
