2 Men Arrested, Accused Of Killing 12-Year-Old Boy In Tulsa

Tulsa Police arrested two men charged with shooting and killing a 12-year-old boy outside a New Year's party near Cherry Street.

Investigators said Alvin Chaplin,18, and Salathiel Fields, 19, fired 35 shots at the house and hit and killed Steven Bruner, even though he wasn’t the intended target. They said it’s rare for suspects in crimes like this to park a long way away from the crime scene, but in this, case Alvin Chaplin and Salathiel Fields parked three blocks away.

They said because of that, the two suspects were caught on several surveillance cameras running to and from their car, and that gave investigators their first lead.

A police report shows that 12-year-old Steven Bruner was shot in the head outside a party full of teenagers near 15th and Utica on New Year's night. The house was riddled with bullet holes. Investigators say surveillance video helped them find a suspicious car in the area around the time of the shooting, and that car was Alvin Chaplin's.

Previous Story: 12-Year-Old Killed In Tulsa Shooting; City's First Homicide Of 2024

Tulsa Police stopped Chaplin for a traffic violation in that same car last week and got his phone number. Investigators say Chaplin’s cell phone data is how they solved this case. They say his phone records showed he was within blocks of the murder scene two hours before the shooting and stayed there for about 30 minutes.

Police believe he was scoping out the area before the shooting. Then the data showed Chaplin went home, then went to Quik Trip near 21st and Memorial around 9:30 where he was seen on video with the other suspect Salathiel Fields. Then, they arrived back near the murder scene, fifteen minutes before the shooting.

Then, 26 minutes after the murder, Chaplin's phone shows he was at Fields' apartment, near 61st and Lewis, and again the two were seen on surveillance video.

Investigators say they figured out Fields was the other suspect because phone records tied the two men together within hours of the murder. Details about a motive have not been released but detectives believe the shooting stemmed from a gang rivalry between the Bloods and Hoover crips.