NAACP branch leader calls for 'cease fire'
Jun. 23—NAACP Muskogee Branch President Rodger Cutler called for a "cease fire" on Tuesday after an altercation inside a westside convenience store spilled out into the parking lot and erupted with gunfire.
"We are concerned about the shootings that have taken place in our city over the last few weeks," Cutler said, citing an escalation of gun violence here and communities across the nation. "We are overly concerned, and we want our people to know that we're here to offer our assistance in any way that we can."
Cutler said he plans to meet other community leaders and work with "our police department to develop a strategic plan and see what we can do to help solve this problem in our community." He said residents must come together "to stop whatever it is" that ignited this violence.
"Whatever assistance we can offer people, you know, we want to be able to do that," Cutler said.
The NAACP leader and St. Mark Baptist Church pastor made his plea for peace while police secured the scene of a midday shooting outside the westside convenience store. While crime scene investigators collected evidence at the scene, Muskogee Police Department dispatched patrol units to secure a perimeter while others searched for Clayton Spencer.
Spencer, 23, is accused of shooting a person who "sustained a minor injury" during an altercation that began inside a west Muskogee convenience store. Police have yet to release the name of the shooting victim, who was described by bystanders as a woman.
Public Information Officer Lynn Hamlin said Spencer fled on foot into the southwest Muskogee neighborhood, where he was able to elude police for hours. Spencer is described as a Black man who stands 6 feet tall and weighs about 160 pounds — he was last seen wearing a white tank top.
"When officers arrived on scene they learned that there was a disturbance inside the Pop'n'Go convenience store between two subjects," Hamlin said, referencing the officers' response to "shots-fired" call. "Those subjects exited the store, and a male subject fired multiple shots at the other subject in the road near the store."
Hamlin said a weapon was "recovered a short distance from the scene." But Spencer's whereabouts remained unknown at about 7 p.m. Tuesday, and police were asking for help from area residents.
You can help
Anyone with information about Clayton Spencer's whereabouts is being asked to call Crime Stoppers at (918) 682-2677. A cash reward is being offered for any tip that leads to Spencer's arrest.
Callers may remain anonymous.
