Man Shot By Armed Clerk After Causing Disturbance At Hotel And Threatening Clerk

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA – A man was shot by a hotel employee in the early hours of Tuesday morning after causing problems at the hotel and then threatening to kill the clerk. Police were called to the Travelers Inn near MacArther Boulevard and Interstate 40 just after 1 a.m.

OCPD Sergeant Dillon Quirk said that responding officers found William Carter, 38, suffering from a gunshot wound to the shoulder. He was transported by ambulance to a hospital for treatment of what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. 

The unnamed 69-year-old hotel employee who was working the front desk told officers that Carter was attempting to kick in one of the hotel room doors. When he was told to leave, he demanded a free room. According to Sgt. Quirk, “The male became very confrontational with the employee – made some threats to the employee.”

The clerk called the security agency used by the hotel, then went back outside to see if Carter had complied with the order to leave the premises, which he had not. Instead, he charged at the clerk, coming within feet of him and allegedly threatening his life. The clerk told police that he was in fear for his life and fired at Carter several times.

Several hotel guests corroborated the clerk’s account, stating that they heard the verbal confrontation between the two men and then heard four gunshots. Witnesses confirmed they heard four gunshots. Several hotel guests reported hearing the confrontation between Carter and the employee.

Sgt. Quirk told reporters that, “The shooter has not been arrested up to this point. That will be up to the DA to decide if any charges will be given.” Carter was arrested and booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center on outstanding fraud warrants after he was treated and released from the hospital.