Suspect In Bixby Manhunt Dies Of Self-Inflicted Gunshot Wound

The subject of a multi-agency manhunt is dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say Jeremy Smith shot himself in the head after breaking into another home.

Friday, March 2nd 2012, 2:49 pm

By: News On 6


A Broken Arrow fugitive who led police on a manhunt through South Tulsa County died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

But before that, police say 25-year-old Jeremy Smith broke into two homes, ran from police, even shot at an officer.

It started around noon when Jeremy Smith broke into a house in a Jenks neighborhood. The burglary escalated when the homeowner walked in on Smith.

"The individual pointed a gun at the resident and ran out, jumped into a vehicle," explained Bixby Police Chief Ike Shirley.

The homeowner was able to provide police with a description of the suspect's car. A Bixby officer pursued Smith's vehicle and chased him into a dead end. According to police, Smith shot at the officer. The officer was not hit, but Smith took the opportunity to run off into the woods -- starting a full-scale manhunt.

"Anytime you have someone who shoots an officer, a uniformed officer, that ups the ante," said OHP L Lieutenant George Brown.

"Once police got on scene, we got the helicopter in the air and K9 units on the ground. Time is a factor."

With a gunman on the loose, Bixby schools went on lockdown and several neighborhoods were shut down.

"What you want to do in situations like this is create a choke point, a perimeter, so the suspect is unable to get out of that," Lt. Brown said.

Meanwhile, Smith called his brother to pick him up. Police took the brother into custody until it was all over -- and confiscated his phone and waited for Smith to call back.

"We tracked it back to this residence and that's how we found out he was at this location," Chief Shirley said.

Officers say Smith kicked in the door of a random house. Luckily, no one was home except the family dog. As officers entered the house, they say Smith shot himself in the head.

"I was going to drive up to my house which is just around the corner from here. I saw the helicopter in the middle of the road by my house," said neighbor Marilyn Battey.

Stunned neighbors watched as paramedics loaded Smith into a medical helicopter and flew him to a Tulsa hospital, the three-hour manhunt was over.

Bixby Police confirmed that Smith later died of his wounds.

Jeremy Smith has a criminal record in Tulsa and Okmulgee Counties, including drug and firearm charges.

logo

Get The Daily Update!

Be among the first to get breaking news, weather, and general news updates from News 9 delivered right to your inbox!

More Like This

March 2nd, 2012

March 22nd, 2024

March 14th, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Top Headlines

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024

March 28th, 2024