In the summer of 2022, a young woman's life was tragically cut short in Oklahoma City due to a senseless act of violence. Aaliyah Leticia Quintero-Lopez, a 19-year-old Hispanic female, was killed on Monday, August 1, 2022. The incident that led to her untimely death began as a road-rage altercation at the intersection of SW 22nd and Blackwelder.
On that evening, Quintero-Lopez was in a car with a 16-year-old male when they became involved in a dispute with the occupants of at least one
other vehicle. The situation escalated dramatically, resulting in a shooting that left both Quintero-Lopez and the teenage boy wounded. They were both transported to OU Medical Center for treatment. Tragically, Aaliyah Quintero-Lopez succumbed to her injuries and passed away at the hospital. The 16-year-old victim was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.
Initial investigations revealed that the victims and the suspect or suspects did not appear to know each other prior to the deadly encounter. The altercation reportedly started after one of Quintero-Lopez's brothers, who was in the car, shot a water bead gun at an SUV that was being driven aggressively. In retaliation, the occupants of the SUV threw a drink at the teenagers' vehicle. The situation then took a fatal turn when a man in another car, a red Dodge Charger, drove up beside them and opened fire.
Following the incident, law enforcement began a search for the person or persons responsible. For a time, no arrests were made, and investigators did not have a definitive description of the suspect. However, authorities released a photo of the suspect's car to the public, which led to numerous tips identifying the driver as Darius Clark. Investigators were able to locate surveillance video showing Clark behind the wheel of the red Dodge Charger that matched the description provided by the surviving victims.
Approximately two weeks after the shooting, the U.S. Marshals Service tracked the 34-year-old murder suspect to a residence in Kennett, Missouri, about seven hours away from Oklahoma City. Darius Clark was taken into custody on a first-degree murder complaint and was slated to be extradited back to Oklahoma County.
