1 arrested after east Tulsa shootout that left 1 teen dead, 1 in critical condition

An 18-year-old was arrested following a shooting on Monday that left one teenager dead and another injured, according to police.

Tulsa Police said 18-year-old Ricardo Galarza was arrested after authorities ran a search warrant at an Owasso home on Tuesday.

Galarza was arrested for murder after a deadly shooting that took place Monday evening at an east Tulsa apartment complex.

Police said two 16-year-olds were shot and one of them died from his injuries.

According to police, 16-year-old Valin Bell died, while another teen remains in critical condition.

On Monday evening, police responded to a shooting at the Midtown Park Apartments, near 21st and Memorial.

According to police, it seemed to have been a gun battle where at least two 16-year-olds were shot.

“I would say looking at it it’s a football field worth of scene. They’ve got lots of tape because we kept finding more and more evidence as it looks like where they were initially shot at in this, kind of this, exchange of gunfire happened, it spread out beyond that. So, we’re finding evidence throughout the complex,” Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg said.

Police said the teen who died is Valin Bell. The other remains in critical condition and is unidentified.

Meulenberg said a rifle and pistol were found at the scene.

He also said shooting like these are a reminder of the importance of making sure guns aren’t stolen .

“The guns we found, I couldn’t tell you if they were stolen yet, but when you’ve got young people involved, they can’t buy these guns, they’re under 21. What we’re finding, this goes to some of our other messaging, we’re seeing thousands of guns being stolen in Tulsa, so this is just a big problem that we as a community, everybody needs to take part of,” Meulenberg said.

Monday’s shooting came after a deadly shooting early Sunday morning and a deadly shooting late Sunday night .

On Tuesday, authorities served a search warrant at a house near North 129th East Avenue and East 86th Street North in Owasso in regard to the deadly shooting.

Police said Galarza was taken from the home and then taken to the Detective Division, where he was questioned.

According to police, after interviewing Galarza, they decided to arrest him for first degree murder.

The investigation is still on-going. Police are asking anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.

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