Man Surrenders To Police After Standoff At St. Francis Hospital

Jenks Police have arrested a man they say caused a three-hour standoff at Saint Francis Hospital on Friday morning. They said 62-year-old Burgin Towe surrendered outside the ER.

Tulsa police said Towe was driving east on Main Street in Jenks Friday morning when he shot his 27-year-old son, Neill, in the leg.

According to police, Neill told them they had spent the evening at the Holiday Inn at the Aquarium because their air conditioning at home was not working. He told them they were driving home when his father held the gun to his own head, then pointed it at Neill and shot.

They said Towe then drove his son to the St. Francis ER at 61st Street and Yale Avenue and told hospital staff he'd shot his son.

Hospital staff told police Towe then got back inside his pickup in the hospital parking lot but didn't leave. They said he was armed with a handgun.

"He's inside a truck outside the ER. He's armed with a gun, and, a couple of times, he's placed the gun up to his chest," said Officer Leland Ashley with TPD.

Tulsa's special operations team was called out to surround Towe's truck and make sure everyone in the area was safe. They locked down the entire hospital and a the nearby Ave Maria Daycare, so no one could go in or out, as a precaution.

Negotiators talked to Towe for about three hours until he put down his gun, put up his hands and surrendered to the officers, just after 9 a.m.

Since the shooting took place in Jenks, Towe was turned over to them to do the investigation.

Major Paul Rinkel with the Tulsa Police, said, "We're real glad everything worked out. The special operations team did a great job. Negotiators got this guy out, nobody got hurt, I was very pleased with that."

Police said Towe refused to tell detectives what caused the shooting, but Neill told police the two were arguing on their way back home; he did not say about what.

Towe was booked into jail for domestic assault and battery with a deadly weapon.

Police said St. Francis nurses confirmed Neill was shot in the left leg and that his femur was shattered and he would need surgery.

It doesn't look like Towe has a criminal history.