Christopher Harris charged with shooting with intent to kill

A tip from an alert citizen Monday afternoon led to the arrest of the man wanted in connection with the shooting of an Okmulgee police officer.

On June 5, a tip was received by law enforcement that Christopher Alfred Harris, 34, was at the Bel-Air Motel, located on Hwy. 75 in Okmulgee.

Around 4 p.m., a contingent of various law enforcement surrounded the motel, and arrested Harris without incident, according to Sheriff Eddy Rice.

Harris was booked into the Okmulgee County Jail on a complaint of shooting with intent to kill as well as on a federal warrant.

The search for Harris began early Thursday, June 1, after the Okmulgee Police Department received a call about a burglary in progress, and two officers responded to the area of E. 2nd Street and N. Central Avenue.

One of the officers went to the front of the residence, while the other went around to the rear of the home. That is where he was ambushed by the suspect.

“There was an exchange of gunfire, and the officer was shot,” the OSBI spokesperson said. “The individual then fled from the scene westbound on foot.”

An emergency alert issued was early Thursday, with numerous officers and agencies combing the area looking for Harris, who was believed to be armed with an AK-47.

The wounded officer was transported to St. Francis Hospital, and was released from the hospital several hours later. He was identified as Okmulgee Police Officer Dustin Clark.

Agencies involved in the search included the Okmulgee Police Department, Muscogee Nation Lighthorse, District 25 Task Force, FBI, U.S. Marshal’s Office, and the Oklahoma Highway Patrol.

The OSBI was called in to investigate the use of force by the officer and against the officer.

Harris was booked into the Okmulgee County jail on a complaint of shooting with intent to kill as well as on a federal warrant.

He had served a 10year, one-month term for a Tulsa bank robbery after pleading guilty in 2012 to an armed robbery at the Bank of Oklahoma at 3037 S. Garnett Road and to a related firearm charge.