Broken Arrow Shooting Leaves One Dead

By Dan Bewley, The News On 6

BROKEN ARROW, OK -- One man is dead.  Another is fighting for his life after getting into a fight in Broken Arrow.  Police say both men were shot with the same gun.

It happened around 7:30 Tuesday morning in the Johanna Woods Mobile Home Park.  Police in Broken Arrow have not released the names of either man but continue to try and put the pieces of the puzzle together.

Police surrounded the mobile home in northeast Broken Arrow at daybreak and found one man, 40-year-old Rodger Dale McKnight, Junior, dead and the homeowner, 45-year-old Randy Bryant, wounded because of a gunshot to his chest.

"Initially it was a call for two men struggling, fighting in the yard and the first officer that arrived found them laying with gunshot wounds," said Broken Arrow Police Captain Carole Newell.

Candice Roberts had just left her one-year-old daughter at the home an hour before the shooting.   The wife of the homeowner, the man found shot in the chest, is her babysitter.  Roberts rushed backed to get her daughter after getting a frantic phone call.

"I freaked out and left and came to get my daughter," said Candice Roberts.  "I was just worried that she was in the middle of it. I'm worried about my babysitter as well, but she is definitely my first priority."

The biggest mystery for investigators is why the two men were fighting. Police say they've been told McKnight had been seen hanging around the neighborhood lately, but they're not sure why or what led to the deadly fight.

Neighbors declined to talk to The News On 6 on-camera, but say this kind of violence is unheard of here at Johanna Woods.  Candice Roberts was shocked by it, saying she had no problems leaving her daughter with the man's wife.

"She's pretty aprehensious (sic) of people and she a pretty good judge of character. So, I trusted my baby.  We kept her.  She was really good for me, definitely," said Candice Roberts.

Police have not released what type of gun was used or which of the two men it belonged to.  Bryant remains in critical condition.

Broken Arrow Police Captain Carole Newell says, at this time, no arrest has been made as it appears Mr. Bryant was acting in self-defense.