OSBI Joins Investigation Into Standoff Near Sand Springs Walmart Parking Lot

The OSBI is now investigating last week's standoff in the parking lot of a Sand Springs Walmart.

The police department requested the bureau's help after an officer fired his weapon.

Police say they were called to the store for reports or larceny and ultimately got in a standoff with Nathan Burks.

Nathan Burks was eventually taken into custody and authorities said he will receive a mental health evaluation.

Police say Burks fired shots, worried witnesses, and prompted police to shut down a busy highway going into the holiday weekend on Friday.

No one was seriously injured after Burks allegedly fired several shots and then barricaded himself inside a dumpster for several hours.

Police say 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 drawn 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,” Sand Springs Police 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 four hours.

“We luckily we had crisis negotiators on scene at the very beginning and got his phone number. We made 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.