WinStar Casino Shooting Leaves One Dead, Suspect at Large
Posted on: July 7, 2025, 11:30h.
Last updated on: July 7, 2025, 12:07h.
- WinStar Casino and Resort was the site of a shooting on Saturday, July 5
- The shooting resulted in the death of a man
- Tribal police are investigating the incident
An early Saturday morning shooting at WinStar World Casino and Resort in Thankerville, Okla. left one person dead.
The Love County Sheriff’s Office reports that shots were fired around 2:30 am local time on Saturday morning. The incident occurred at the WinStar Casino “on tribal property,” the county law enforcement agency said.
Love County officials said since the shooting occurred on tribal land, the case is being investigated by the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police.
We have full confidence in our partners at the Chickasaw Lighthorse Police and will remain available should they need anything from our agency in the investigation,” said Love County Sheriff Andy Cumberledge. “No further information will be provided from our agency, as this is not our case, but we wanted to remain transparent to the citizens of our county.”
WinStar is owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation, one of the country’s largest federally recognized tribes that’s based in Ada, Okla. WinStar is among the largest gaming destinations in the US, with the property’s nine city-themed casinos — Beijing, Cairo, London, Madrid, New York, Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, and Vienna — collectively offering 400K square feet of gaming space with more than 10K slot machines and 100 live-dealer table games.
Details Light
What led to the early Saturday shooting at WinStar Casino and Resort wasn’t immediately made public. Cumberledge said there are “limited details” that can be released, but confirmed that “one person was shot and was transported to a nearby hospital” and that “the suspect fled the area prior to law enforcement arriving.”
“[Love County Sheriff’s Office] deputies initially responded to help look for the suspect and then cleared from the area after receiving information that the suspect was no longer in the area,” Cumberledge explained.
News 9 reports that the shooting victim succumbed to their injuries and died. The Oklahoma City news outlet added that the shooter remains on the run, and no motive has been disclosed.
The Love County Sheriff’s Office’s post on the WinStar shooting could provide some light.
One commenter on the post claims he knew the victim, saying “he was a family man and had children.” A reply to that post claims they knew “the whole family” and offered condolences to “his mom.”
Another commenter said the shooting occurred just outside the casino floor in the parking lot. Another added, “Loss for words to lose a friend who was like a brother. Family man, great father, amazing basketball talent. This is a tragedy.”
Tribal Police
As a sovereign nation, the Chickasaw Nation possesses the power to enforce the law on its lands and federally designated territories. Tribal police have jurisdiction over most misdemeanor crimes, but when it comes to murders, the federal government typically intervenes.
The 1817 General Crimes Act and Major Crimes Act of 1885 make most violent crimes, including murder, manslaughter, rape, assault with intent to kill, arson, burglary, and larceny, a federal crime.
The Love County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post on the WinStar shooting that “a lot of factors” dictate whether the incident will become a federal investigation. The agency said the shooting might not “technically be a ‘federal investigation'” but “presented to the feds for prosecution (if the factors dictate that).”
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