Casino Shooting Manhunt Continues in Oklahoma, Texans Told to Be On High Alert

Posted on: April 14, 2025, 11:06h. 

Last updated on: April 14, 2025, 11:22h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.
  • The Tulsa Osage Casino was the site of a weekend shooting
  • Police continue to search for suspected gunman
  • It’s unclear what led to the gunfire

Law enforcement in Oklahoma and Texas continue to search for a suspected gunman allegedly involved in a double shooting at a tribal casino over the weekend.

casino shooting Osage Oklahoma
The Osage Casino Hotel in Tulsa was the site of a weekend shooting. Law enforcement in Oklahoma and Texas are searching for an 18-year-old suspected gunman who remains at large. (Image: Osage Casino Hotel Tulsa)

The Osage County Sheriff’s Office is searching for 18-year-old Malik Sampson, a person of interest in a shooting that injured two on Saturday. The shooting occurred at the Osage Casino Hotel in Tulsa, a tribally owned and operated casino resort by the Osage Nation.

Local officials say the Osage Nation Police Department and the Osage County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of gunfire at the Osage Casino Hotel located at 951 W. 36th St. in Tulsa in the early morning hours of April 12. Investigators identified Sampson as a person of interest.

Sampson is described as a Black male, 6’1″, and approximately 165 pounds. He has multiple tattoos, including neck tattoos.

If you have any information regarding Sampson’s whereabouts or details related to the incident, Osage County Sheriff’s Office is asking the public to call 918-287-3131,” a Facebook post from the Sheriff’s Office read.

Sampson has family in Tulsa but reportedly lives in Arlington, Texas. The drive from Tulsa to Arlington is roughly four and a half hours.

Osage County Crime

The Osage Tulsa casino is one of seven gaming facilities operated by the Osage Nation. The casinos have seen their fair share of crime in recent years.

Last May, Casino.org reported on a person being shot in the leg in the Osage Casino Hotel Tulsa parking lot. And in November 2023, a man was shot and killed in the parking lot of the Osage Casino Bartlesville location.

The November 2023 shooting was justified, county officials said later, as the shooter shot the man to save a tribal police officer who was being dragged through the parking lot. Osage County District Attorney Mike Fisher said the shooter was justified in shooting and killing the 35-year-old man after he sped off in his pickup truck while the officer was trying to remove him from the vehicle. The shooter was identified as Brandon Hines, a Bartlesville resident.

“You have a right and absolute right to come to the defense of another and to use deadly force if you believe deadly force is the only option available in trying to prevent somebody from potentially losing their life,” Fisher said.

The police officer had approached Beau Caskey on suspicion of credit card theft.

Oklahoma Casinos Rely on Texas

The Osage Nation and the many other gaming tribes in Oklahoma benefit greatly from Texas maintaining its ban on commercial casino gambling and Indian casinos.

In the 2024 fiscal year, the Oklahoma Gaming Compliance Unit reported that the tribal casinos won almost $3.5 billion from gamblers. Oklahoma received more than $210 million in tribal exclusivity fees during the 12 months, a 3.9% year-over-year increase.

Texas lawmakers continue to discuss gaming bills, but haven’t yet voted in favor of any.

Dallas billionaire Mark Cuban has long been supportive of allowing casino resorts in the state. In late 2023, he sold a controlling stake in the NBA Dallas Mavericks to the family that controls the Las Vegas Sands casino empire that operates in China’s Macau and Singapore.