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Two accused of Tulsa shootings to appear in court Tulsa shooting rampage suspects charged with murder
(about 2 hours later)
Two men accused of killing three black men an Oklahoma city, on Friday are due to appear in court. Two men accused of shooting five black people, three fatally, in an Oklahoma city on Friday have been charged at a court hearing with murder.
Police say they have no motive as to why Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32 allegedly shot five men in Tulsa. Jake England, 19, and Alvin Watts, 32, face three counts of first-degree murder and two of shooting with intent to kill.
They are expected to face three counts of first-degree murder and two of shooting with intent to kill. Bail was set at $9m (£5.6m) each. They will next appear in court on 16 April.
The men were arrested at a home in Tulsa on Sunday following an anonymous tip-off. The two were arrested at a home in Tulsa on Sunday following an anonymous tip-off.
Facebook posting A helicopter was used in the operation to detain the suspects, who were roommates.
A helicopter was used in the operation to detain the suspects. They appeared via CCTV from jail in front of a judge on Monday.
Police chief Chuck Jordan identified the three dead as Dannaer Fields, 49, Bobby Clark, 54, and William Allen, 31.
Two other victims wounded in the attacks have since been released from hospital.
None of the victims are thought to have known each other and all five of them were out walking when they were shot within a 3-mile (4.8-km) radius of one another early on Friday.
The north Tulsa area, where the shootings took place, is a predominantly black area, although police have yet to establish a motive.
Police spokesman Jason Willingham said that based on Facebook postings attributed to Mr England, he may have been seeking revenge for his father's death two years ago.
On Thursday, according to Mr Willingham, Mr England posted an update, using a racial slur, that blamed his father's death on a black man.
'Axe to grind''Axe to grind'
Carl England was shot in the chest in April 2010 during a fight with a man who had tried to break into his daughter's apartment. The three dead have been identified as Dannaer Fields, 49, Bobby Clark, 54, and William Allen, 31.
"It's apparent from the posting on the Facebook page that he had an axe to grind, and that was possibly part of the motive," Mr Willingham said. Two men wounded in the attacks have since been released from hospital.
Susan Sevenstar, a family friend of Mr England, told the Associated Press that he was "a good kid" who "was not in his right mind" after his father's death and the suicide of his fiancee in January. None of the victims are thought to have known each other and all of them were out walking when they were shot within a 3-mile (4.8-km) radius early on Friday.
Mr Watts was Mr England's current roommate. The north Tulsa area where the shootings took place is a predominantly black area, although law enforcement officials said it was too early to assume a racial motivation.
Mr Willingham could not confirm whether the suspects were armed when they were taken into custody. Police spokesman Jason Willingham said that Mr England may have had an "axe to grind" because of his father's death two years ago.
However, of the investigation into the killings, he said: "We are going to turn over every rock." Carl England was shot in the chest in April 2010 during a fight with an African-American who had tried to break into his daughter's apartment.
Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan had earlier said officers would do whatever it took to apprehend those responsible for what he described as "vicious and cowardly attacks". The man convicted in the case is serving six years in jail on a weapons charge.
In January, Jake England also witnessed the death of his fiancee, Sheran Hart Wilde, 24, who according to reports shot herself in front of him.
Police said that on Thursday Mr England had posted a Facebook update, using a racial slur, that blamed his father's death on a black man.
"Today is two years that my dad has been gone shot by a [expletive] [racial epithet]," Mr England wrote on Thursday. "It's hard not to go off between that and sheran I'm gone in the head."
Shortly after Friday's shootings, Mr England reportedly posted again on Facebook: "People talking [expletive] on me for some [expletive] I didn't do it just mite be the time to call it quits... I hate to say it like that but I'm done if something does happen tonight be ready for another funeral later."
His Facebook page had been taken down as of Sunday.
Susan Sevenstar, a family friend, told the Associated Press that Mr England was "a good kid" who "was not in his right mind" since his father's death and fiancee's suicide.
Police could not confirm whether the suspects were armed when they were taken into custody.
Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan had earlier described the shootings as "vicious and cowardly attacks".
The Tulsa shootings come at a fraught time for African-Americans, amid continued protests over the death of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed black teenager who was killed by a neighbourhood watch volunteer in Florida in February.
Tulsa City council's only black member, Jack Henderson, said he believed the two suspects simply had a grudge against black people.
Mr Henderson, who represents the district where the shootings took place, said he hoped prosecutors would pursue hate crime charges if the evidence pointed in that direction.
During weekend memorials for the victims, the city's religious leaders called for the community to come together.
Warren Blakney, a church minister and local president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, thanked police and the FBI, according to the Tulsa World newspaper.
"I should say to those that may be listening across the country, we are one America," Rev Blakney said.