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TULSA, Okla. — Days after a deadly mass shooting traumatized hundreds of Juneteenth festival attendees, Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols announced new safety measures Monday afternoon, including a proposed curfew, aimed at reducing the crisis of gun violence impacting the city’s youth.
Flanked by local and federal law enforcement at City Hall, Mayor Nichols announced plans to pass a new ordinance that would create a new downtown curfew for minors. The city’s current curfew for minors runs from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
“If passed, I look forward to signing it. It would create a mandatory curfew in downtown within the IDL, starting at 9 p.m. for all persons under 17 years and younger,” Mayor Nichols said.
The announcement comes after shooters opened fire in the middle of a large crowd celebrating Juneteenth on Black Wall Street Saturday night. A 22-year-old man was shot dead, and seven others ranging from 17-years-old to 80 were injured.
“I never had to hit the ground before in a shooting,” Vernon A.M.E. Church Senior Pastor Keith Mayes said in a live video as the bullets injured several of his church members.
Suspects remain at large as Tulsa Mayor announces proposed curfew, safety measures
Police haven’t been able to identify the exact number of shooters or their identities as they ask witnesses to anonymously submit any information, photos, or videos of the shooting to their Evidence Submission Portal.
It represented one of several shootings that took place across the city last week that involved younger Tulsans.
“This weekend, as we set out to celebrate something as universally positive as liberation over slavery, a life was lost. Sixteen Tulsans were injured all by gun violence. All told, since I’ve been in office, we’ve lost 26 Tulsans to gun violence,” Mayor Nichols said. He was sworn into office in December 2024. “These families have been devastated. Friends have been devastated. This community has been devastated.”
The administration hopes the proposed downtown Tulsa curfew ordinance can pass and take effect as early as this Thursday. Notably, the curfew wouldn’t address shootings that have taken place by young people between 18 and 25.
Tulsa City Council Vice Chair Karen Gilbert is leading the effort to pass the ordinance Wednesday.
“We want juveniles to come downtown and enjoy events, to be safe while doing so. We also want to make sure we protect our business owners and patrons of those businesses,” Gilbert said.
Will Tulsa curfew ordinance provide due process?
Notably, Gilbert faced heavy criticism in 2018 when she proposed a truancy ordinance that would further criminalize and fine parents of chronically absent students. The Black Wall Street Times asked how the ordinance would incorporate due process to ensure the civil rights of Tulsans aren’t violated.
“Every interaction that we would have with a young person will be captured on body camera footage,” Mayor Nichols responded. “Sometimes we don’t get it right, something goes wrong, and when something goes wrong, we’re going to make sure that we hold ourselves accountable, those responsible accountable,” he added.
Speaking about his own son, the mayor said he wouldn’t want his son to be out after hours hanging around bars that he couldn’t get into anyway. He’s urging young people not to see officers as a threat merely by their presence.
“Let’s just try to comply with the curfew ordinance, and if there’s a violation of civil rights or something like that, we’ll take care of that on the back end. We’ll take care of the back end. And everybody has my word on that,” Mayor Nichols said.
In addition, Mayor Nichols announced the creation of a crisis intervention team that would proactively work in the community, funded through a federal grant. Meanwhile, Police Chief Dennis Larsen announced the formation of a new police task force that would focus on gun violence impacting young people.
Did TPD drop the ball?
As questions swirl around whether Tulsa Police placed too few officers at the event, Chief Larsen said his officers are continuing to pursue leads into the recent shootings and will be enhancing their presence at large gatherings.
“Our detectives have been working around the clock. Our forensic lab was in all weekend. We’re analyzing evidence,” Chief Larsen said. The new task force will comprise of members of TPD’s Special Investigation Division, crime analysts and forensic scientists.
“They will work in close cooperation with our state and our federal partners, along with the Tulsa County Sheriff’s Office, the Tulsa County district attorney and the US Attorney,” he said.
At one point during the press conference, KTUL reporter Tanya Modersitzki asked Chief Larsen whether TPD had “dropped the ball.”
“We were executing search warrants by the middle of the weekend when the second and then the third and fourth had then occurred,” Chief Larsen said, referring to recent gun violence in the city. “People were celebrating Juneteenth, a federal state, and local holiday. The crowd, 99%, was joyous and celebrating, and you had certain actors and individuals with deputies standing nearby to actively start engaging in gunfire with each other.”
Mayor Nichols came to the Chief’s defense. “I’m not sure that I would say the ball was dropped, but I think we all understand the gravity of the challenge that we’re under, and how, although we would like to make sure we do this in maybe a less aggressive fashion, there is no other way to do it,” Mayor Nichols said.
Notably, two uniformed officers per 150 attendees is considered a baseline standard for major outdoor events. Outdoor events like MayFest, Legacy Fest, and Tulsa Juneteenth attract upwards of 15,000 to 20,000 attendees at each event annually.
Ultimately, just a few individuals were able to use guns to send hundreds of peaceful festival attendees fleeing for their lives. In addition to the proposed curfew and other safety measures, Tulsa Mayor Nichols called on state leaders to support gun safety efforts to reduce violence.
Governor calls out mayor during press conference
Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, a Republican, held a news conference during the same time as Mayor Nichols’, a Democrat. The governor blasted Tulsa’s decision to enter a settlement with the Muscogee (Creek) Nation in which only the tribal nation would prosecute tribal citizens of Tulsa. The city is the largest in the nation to be located within a tribal reservation.
“Tulsa is essentially making itself a sanctuary city for tribal members engaged in criminal activity,” said Governor Stitt, who has for years called tribal sovereignty a threat against the state of Oklahoma.
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Mayor responds to Governor’s criticism
Notably, Governor Stitt has previously signed permitless open carry into law and banned cities from passing gun reform measures on the local level. After the press conference, The Black Wall Street Times asked Mayor Nichols whether these laws have made it more difficult to address gun violence in large cities.
“We’re asking officers to go out there and deal with public safety issues. The nature of the weapons that everybody has is incredibly concerning. We’re not just talking about revolvers and stuff like that. We’re talking about weapons of war. I mean, you’d be shocked if you were to see things that are going on,” Mayor Nichols told The Black Wall Street Times.
Since January of this year, Tulsa police have confiscated 883 guns from the streets.
“That’s only six months of work, six months of work. And so, you know, you wonder how much is also out there. And so, I mean, I would say that I do feel like the governor could take a more leadership role, even if it was just recognizing the challenging nature of Tulsa and Oklahoma City versus some of the other places,” Mayor Nichols said.
I didn’t expect this post to go that hard… but here we are ?