12-year-old shot and killed at midtown Tulsa home identified

TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Police identify the 12-year-old who was shot and killed at a home in midtown Tulsa.

Police identified the 12-year-old boy as Steven Bruner.

Police say the shooting took place Monday night at a home near 14th and Utica that was rented for a party. Tulsa Police say the 12-year-old was the unintended victim of a gunfight at home being rented for a party through VRBO, a vacation rental website.

It’s Tulsa’s first homicide of 2024.

“Here we are, the first of the year, first homicide, first day and it’s a 12-year-old? It’s completely unacceptable,” Tulsa Police Captain Richard Meulenberg said.

Police said the attack wasn’t random, but instead was between several people, and the 12-year-old was not the intended target.

“A couple of the juveniles that were in the home at that time had said that they had some prior issues with some other individuals where they even had their personal home shot up,” Meulenberg said.

Tulsa Police have interviewed multiple people about the shooting, including some people who were at the party, which took place at a home rented through VRBO.

Police are asking anyone with information about the shooting, including other witnesses who may not have come forward yet, to contact the Tulsa Police Department or Crime Stoppers at 918-596-COPS.

Tulsa’s First Homicide of 2024