OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – A gun transaction turned deadly and has now become a murder case after a man was fatally shot in his northwest Oklahoma City apartment on Sunday. Authorities have arrested two suspects, Jaden Walters and Joe Walzer, both from the Tulsa area, in connection with the killing of 24-year-old Thomas Wade III.
According to police, Wade was found shot to death inside his apartment near Northwest 36th and Portland, close to Will Rogers Park. Three other people — a woman and two children — were present in the home during the shooting but were not harmed.
“This appears to have been a targeted encounter,” said Msgt. Gary Knight of the Oklahoma City Police Department. “The suspects knocked on the door, entered when it was opened, shot the victim, and fled.”
Detectives retrieved text messages from Wade’s phone that showed he had arranged a meeting with Walters and Walzer to purchase a gun. Moments before the shooting, witnesses heard gunfire and saw two men fleeing the apartment and leaving in a black Toyota Camry.
Security camera footage corroborated the witness accounts, showing two men entering and then fleeing the complex around the time of the murder.
Court documents state that when asked who shot him, Wade was only able to respond, “they,” suggesting he recognized the attackers.
Both Walters and Walzer were arrested and are being held at the Oklahoma County Detention Center on first-degree murder and armed robbery complaints. Their bonds have been set at $10 million each. As of now, formal charges have not been filed by the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office, and it remains unclear whether a gun or other items were stolen during the incident.
