Suspect Arrested in ‘Execution-Style’ Killings of 4 at Oklahoma Marijuana Farm - The New York Times

U.S.|Suspect Arrested successful ‘Execution-Style’ Killings of 4 astatine Oklahoma Marijuana Farm

The authorities successful Oklahoma connected Tuesday arrested a fishy who they judge killed 4 radical “execution style” and injured 1 much successful an onslaught astatine a agrarian marijuana workplace connected Sunday.

The suspect, Wu Chen, 45, was arrested by the Miami Beach Police Department aft a car-tag scholar “flagged the conveyance helium was driving,” the authorities said successful a connection connected Tuesday night. He volition look charges of execution and shooting with intent to kill, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.

Capt. Stan Florence of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said astatine a quality league connected Monday that Mr. Chen knew the victims, but it was unclear how.

“They each cognize each other,” helium said. “Don’t cognize if they’re related, don’t cognize if they’re co-workers, but certainly, we judge they were each acquainted with each other.”

The victims were each Chinese, the authorities said Tuesday, adding that “because of a important connection barrier, adjacent of kin notification is pending.”

Brook Arbeitman, a spokeswoman with the bureau, said by telephone connected Tuesday that officials were inactive investigating what had motivated the killings. She added that officials were withholding the individuality of the fishy due to the fact that releasing it would enactment further radical successful danger.

Deputies astatine the Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to calls of a hostage concern astatine the marijuana workplace connected Sunday.

At astir 5:45 p.m. connected Sunday, the fishy entered a gathering astatine the marijuana workplace connected a agrarian roadworthy adjacent Hennessey, Okla., which is astir 70 miles northwest of Oklahoma City. Several employees were wrong the gathering astatine the time, Ms. Arbeitman said.

The fishy was wrong the gathering “for a important magnitude of time” earlier unit erupted, the authorities said.

Ms. Arbeitman said the 3 men and 1 pistillate had been changeable and killed successful a “violent, execution-style manner.” She did not connection much circumstantial information.

“It was intelligibly an execution and not conscionable a random firing,” she said.

The idiosyncratic who was wounded was inactive hospitalized connected Tuesday, Ms. Arbeitman said.

Mark Woodward, a spokesperson with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control, which is besides investigating the deaths, said by telephone connected Tuesday that the tract wherever the killings occurred had a licence to turn marijuana. But officials were inactive investigating whether that licence had been obtained legally oregon fraudulently, helium added.

Since the outpouring of 2021, the authorities has fixed retired astir 8,500 licenses to turn marijuana, but officials person determined that astir 2,000 of those licenses were obtained fraudulently, Mr. Woodward said.

To suffice for a license, Oklahoma requires that applicants seeking astatine slightest a 75 percent ownership involvement of the marijuana workplace indispensable amusement that they person resided successful the authorities for astatine slightest 2 years. The rule proved casual to bypass, Mr. Woodward said, with radical — mostly from countries similar China and Mexico — uncovering “ghost owners” successful the authorities to assistance fulfill the request and found transgression organizations that turn for the achromatic market.

“I can’t accidental that that’s what this radical is doing,” Mr. Woodward said of the workplace wherever the killings occurred. “That’s what we volition find successful our investigation.”

He added that “there’s besides a unit aspect” tied to the transgression organizations, with unpaid debts often starring to violence.

“We’ve had respective homicides tied to aesculapian marijuana businesses successful Oklahoma,” Mr. Woodward said.