Officials: Shooter had gun license

Associated Press

OKLAHOMA CITY

The man suspected of shooting three people inside an Oklahoma City restaurant before being fatally shot by bystanders had no obvious connection to the victims or the restaurant and was legally authorized to carry a firearm, authorities said Friday.

Investigators are trying to determine a motive behind the Thursday night attack that wounded four people, according to Oklahoma City Police Capt. Bo Mathews. He said the only interaction police had with the suspected gunman, 28-year-old Alexander Tilghman, was during a domestic assault and battery call when Tilghman was 13.

A police report from that 2003 incident indicates Tilghman was arrested after his mother told police he punched her several times during a dispute over a vacuum cleaner.

Mathews said Thursday’s shooting appeared to be random but noted that Tilghman drove to the restaurant and wore protective gear for his ears and eyes.

“It looked like his mind was made up that he was going to discharge his firearm once he got there,” Mathews said during a Friday news conference. Mathews stressed that the investigation was ongoing and confirmed that Tilghman’s mental health was being looked into.

On a Facebook page that police said belonged to Tilghman, the man posts a video in which he claims his television is possessed by the devil. The page uses the same profile photo as a YouTube channel where a man that appears to be Tilghman also describes demons possessing his TV and being surrounded by computers.