In the early morning hours of February 6, 2016, a life brimming with promise was tragically cut short in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Nathan Brooker, a 27-year-old male, was found shot in the back parking lot of Momma T's Big Easy Lounge. An altercation that began inside the bar spilled out into the night, escalating to a fatal confrontation that ended with Brooker being shot multiple times.
He was rushed to a local hospital but succumbed to his injuries the following day.
Brooker was on the cusp of a new chapter in his life, one dedicated to helping others. In just two weeks, he was scheduled to move to the Houston area to work as a counselor for a nonprofit organization that aids at-risk youth who have been impacted by violence. A passionate basketball player, he had planned to use the sport as a tool to mentor and guide children. His father later expressed the profound irony and unfairness of his son, who was preparing to dedicate his life to helping victims of violence, becoming a victim himself.
The investigation into Nathan Brooker's death moved swiftly. Later on the day of the shooting, Tulsa police arrested 31-year-old Watani Gleason at his residence in connection with the crime. Initially arrested for shooting with intent to kill, the charge was upgraded to first-degree murder following Brooker's death. Gleason was subsequently convicted of first-degree murder in 2017 and has been serving his sentence in the Oklahoma Department of Corrections. An appeal of his conviction was later denied.
