Suspect In Custody Following Standoff Near Sand Springs Walmart

A man is now in custody and will be getting a mental health evaluation after being involved in an armed standoff with Sand Springs Police.

The man, identified by the police as Nathan Burks, fired shots, worried witnesses, and prompted police to shut down a busy highway going into the holiday weekend.

Everyone is relieved tonight no one was seriously hurt after a man fired several shots then barricaded himself inside a dumpster for several hours.

It started as a shoplifting call at the Walmart near highways 412 and 97, and quickly became a dangerous situation.

Witnesses describe the scene that was happening at one of the busiest areas in Sand Springs.

“My wife was getting off work, and I heard shots. What was it, four or five, wasn’t it? So, I went over there to the corner, and they were drawed(sic) up on him. So far, it’s just been this since then,” Edward Grady said.

“I just pulled in while they were starting to shoot,” explained Drew Morales, who says he was just pulling into a parking lot to shop. 

Police say when they found a shoplifting suspect in the Walmart parking lot, Burks took off. 

“They chased him into the dumpster partition that they have on businesses on the end of the parking lot of St. John's Medical Center. And before they went in to go get him, he fired a gun at one of the officers,” Chief Todd Enzbrenner said.

Officers say the suspect threatened to kill himself, and that’s when they set a perimeter up along Highway 97, diverting traffic for more than 4 hours.

“We luckily we had crisis negotiators on scene at the very beginning got his phone number. We make contact with him on the phone. We've been talking to him the entire time throughout this event,” Enzbrenner said. 

Police worried that as the sun set, it would be more difficult for officers to see, so they left Burks with two choices. 

“We informed him that it was time to give up or we were going to start taking measures to force him to give up, and luckily he gave up on his own,” Enzbrenner said.