Man Breaks Into Estranged Family’s House, Shot And Killed By His Brother

TULSA, OK – A break-in in Tulsa resulted in shots fired and one dead in the early hours of Nov. 13, according to the Tulsa World.

An intruder alerted the dogs at the residence of the Gattis family, and their barking woke up the residents, which include two elders – the parents and ostensible homeowners – and their younger son, all unnamed in reports.

Their son began searching the house for an intruder with a firearm, finding a person hiding behind a couch in the basement and firing at him, hitting him at least once.

When the Tulsa Police Department responded, they found Tyler Gattis on the floor and transported him to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The shooter was questioned and released.

Tyler Gattis was estranged from his family and reportedly had not been welcome at the home for several years.

The Tulsa County District Attorney’s office is still investigating.

Tragic Outcome But Understandable Circumstances

This incident is tragic, as a young man lost his life, and his brother took it. The circumstances that led to the estrangement aren’t known, and perhaps the fact that the decedent broke into the house in the middle of the night suggests why it might have happened.

However, it’s certainly understandable why a person would shoot in that instance. Seeing a person who should not be in your house after 2 am is certainly cause for believing that something is very wrong.

With such limited information – multiple Tulsa, Okla. outlets reported the same story, but with little information aside from the basic description of the incident – it’s hard to say there’s much takeaway.

Mistaken identity shootings do occur, which is why it’s imperative to have a high-output flashlight or put a white light on a home defense gun, but who’s to say the shooter didn’t see the person behind the couch well enough? A person might opine that talking instead of shooting could have prevented the outcome, but that’s hardly a certainty.

In any event, tragedy unfolded in understandable circumstances.