Officials: Man killed mother, 70-year-old in Arkansas before fatally shot by officers

Andre Johnson
Andre Johnson

The investigation into the officer-involved shooting in Oklahoma that killed Arkansas double homicide suspect Andre Johnson will take “several weeks minimum,” said an official with the Oklahoma Bureau of Investigation.

Jessica Brown, a spokesman for the bureau, said the primary agent working the case would need time to gather all the evidence to help determine if the authorities who shot Johnson in Broken Bow, Okla., acted within the law.

Agents will have to consult ballistics and other evidence from the scene of the shooting and evaluate Johnson’s autopsy before submitting a written report to the McCurtain County district attorney, Brown said. Interviewing the witnesses at the scene — East 10th Street and Norris Drive in Broken Bow — will be particularly time-consuming, she added.

“There are a lot of people out there, and we want to interview all of them,” Brown said.

Johnson, 40, was the suspect in two shooting deaths in Horatio on Saturday afternoon. The Sevier County sheriff's office identified the victims as Don L. Brown, 70, of Horatio and Deborah Johnson, 66, who lived in the 100 block of Cottage Hill Drive, which was the homicide's location. Robert Gentry, a spokesman for the sheriff's office, said Deborah Johnson was Andre Johnson's mother.

After the shootings in Arkansas, Andre Johnson drove to Broken Bow, which is roughly 28 miles from Horatio, authorities said.

Map

The scene of the shooting

The scene of the shooting

According to a news release from the Oklahoma bureau, Johnson was shot by officers that night. A Broken Bow officer spotted Johnson about 9 p.m., and additional authorities joined a pursuit, the release said.

The chase reportedly ended when Johnson turned down a dead-end street. The release said he exited his vehicle and shot at a police cruiser. According to witnesses, Johnson then ran to another police car and shot at its windshield.

Four officers — two from Broken Bow, a McCurtain County sheriff’s deputy and an officer from the Choctaw Nation tribal police — then shot Johnson multiple times. He was taken to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.

Brown said the names of the officers would not be released unless they were charged.

Broken Bow police requested that the bureau investigate the shooting, and agents interviewed witnesses through the night.

After receiving the investigative report, the district attorney will make the final decision on whether the shooting was justified.

Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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