Suspects Captured In Claremore Manhunt

NewsOn6.com

CLAREMORE, Oklahoma -- A man and woman have been arrested after a police chase overnight Sunday. Both have been taken to a local hospital with injuries, according to Rogers County Sheriff Scott Walton.

Philip Michael Schrader and Wanda Michelle Ward, both 23, are in police custody.

The couple led several law enforcement agencies on a chase starting just after midnight when officers tried to stop a Scion xB they suspected was used in a Claremore drive-by shooting Friday night.

The suspects led officers on a chase through Verdigris, Claremore and on the Will Rogers Turnpike with Ward behind the wheel. 

"She was driving, and he was shooting at police cars," Walton said Sunday. "Hit hit both a Verdigris car and a Claremore police car."

No law enforcement officers were injured, Walton said.

The pursuit ended in an east Claremore neighborhood located south of Murray Road and U.S. Highway 20. Officers took Ward into custody, and Schrader fled into the Claremore neighborhood.

Walton said Schrader's sister lives in the neighborhood, and he ran to her house. He left the house and ran across the turnpike where he was spotted by a Rogers County deputy with a K9 named Sandy.

The deputy yelled at Schrader to stop then released the K9 officer when the suspect kept running, police said.

"He received bites while being apprehended by a K9 unit, got some cuts and abrasions," Walton said.

"She had a wound to her back either from rounds that police had fired or shrapnel. Nothing life threatening on either one," he said.

According to Walton, Phillip Schrader was arrested on complaints of shooting with intent to kill. Ward is in custody on complaints of felony eluding and driving a vehicle used in a drive-by shooting.

Walton said Claremore police are continuing to investigate the drive-by shooting that occurred Friday night.

Agencies involved in the capture included Claremore and Verdigris Police Departments, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Rogers County Sheriff's Office and the Cherokee Nation Marshals Service.

Keep checking back to this story for updates, and News On 6 viewers can see reporter Dan Bewley's story on tonight's newscasts.