Police did not immediately disclose the names and ages of the victims or suspects. Investigators are trying to find out why the murders occurred, she said.
“We won’t believe it’s arbitrary, but we just don’t have any details about ‘why’ or ‘what happened,'” Hamlin told reporters.
Police received a call around 1:30 a.m. Tuesday about people who had been shot at the house in Muskogee, a town of about 37,000 residents about a 40-mile drive southeast of Tulsa.
“When (officers) arrived, they saw a suspect leaving the house with a gun in his hand. One of our officers shot that suspect and missed him,” Hamlin said.
The suspect ran away, but officers arrested him after a short chase, Hamlin said.
Inside the house, officers found four children and a man dead, along with an injured child and the injured woman – all of whom were shot – police said.
The injured child and woman were taken by helicopter to a hospital in Tulsa, where the child was pronounced dead, Hamlin said.
The woman was hospitalized for life-threatening injuries, police said.
Investigators believe the victims were a family, Hamlin said. The detectives don’t know if the suspect is related to them, she said.
According to Hamlin, the suspect was held in Muskogee County Jail Tuesday morning.