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2 Dead, Including Suspect, In Oklahoma City Airport Shooting

Jacob McCleland / Oklahoma Public Media Exchange
Police block off the entrance to Will Rogers World Airport along Meridian Ave.

UPDATE (November 16 at 11:41 a.m.):

Police have identified the suspect in a shooting yesterday at the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City as Lloyd Dean Buie.

Oklahoma City police Captain Paco Balderrama described Buie on Wednesday morning as a 45-year-old white male.

Balderrama says Buie allegedly shot Michael Winchester with a rifle from about 50 yards distance.

“Although it is still very early in this investigation, detectives working this case have been able to determine that the suspect was an ex-employee of Southwest Airlines. He resigned from his job in April of 2015 and it’s believed that the crime was premeditated and that the suspect armed himself and went to the airport with the intention of shooting someone.”

Winchester died later at a hospital. Buie was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on the second level of an airport parking garage.

UPDATE (November 15 at 10:15 p.m.):

The suspect is dead who allegedly shot and killed a former University of Oklahoma football player at the Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.

52-year old Michael Winchester was shot shortly before 1:00 p.m. on Tuesday in the airport parking lot. He was transported to a local hospital, where he died.

Winchester was an employee of Southwest Airlines, and he was previously a punter for the Sooners in the 1980s.

Police have not yet released the identity of the alleged shooter, who died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in a red pickup truck on the second floor of an airport parking garage.

Oklahoma City police captain Paco Balderrama said Winchester’s murder was premeditated.

“This individual went there and waited for the employee to either be coming or going, to take his opportunity.”

The airport was on lockdown for nearly five hours as police swept the area. People inside the airport was asked to shelter in place. Approximately 25 flights were canceled, many flights were diverted.

Airport spokeswoman Karen Carney says the closure had a ripple effect on air travel both regionally and nationally.

“Airlines depend on having aircraft at certain airports and getting from Point A to Point B, and then all of a sudden you’re causing other delays and other cancelations in other airports because that aircraft is not where it’s supposed to be.”

ORIGINAL POST:

A Southwest Airlines employee has died after being shot at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City.

Oklahoma City Police have identified the victim as 52-year-old Michael Winchester, an employee of Southwest Airlines.

Oklahoma City Police Captain Paco Balderrama says they have basic information about the shooter's identity, but are not releasing a name at the moment.

The airport is still on lockdown as police continue their investigation. They encourage people to avoid the area. Those inside the airport have been asked to shelter in place.

The only aircraft that has been allowed to land is a Federal Transfer Center aircraft carrying federal prisoners to a transfer center on airport property.

Southwest Airlines says in a news release that they are cancelling all flights scheduled to depart Oklahoma City for the remainder of the day Tuesday. The news release also says Southwest is working to accommodate passengers at the airport affected by the cancelation of flights.

Jacob McCleland was KGOU's News Director from 2015 to 2018.
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