TULSA, Okla. — A Tulsa man is goig to spend life in prison after killing two people at a Tulsa library and QuikTrip in April.
Carlton Gilford pleaded guilty to two counts of murder, two counts of shooting with intent to kill, and one count of malicious intimidation or harassment.
He shot and killed Lundin Hathcock and James McDaniel in April 2023.
2 News Oklahoma spoke with the Hathcock's mother, she said the world is a darker place without her son. "I think there was a very bright light, and that light was turned out by doing nothing except for being a white man sitting in a library at the wrong place at the wrong time," DeeDee Clapp said.
Gilford admitted in court he shot both men because of their race.
Tulsa's district attorney charged Gilford with Oklahoma's version of a hate crime. Under Oklahoma law, there is no specific hate crime statute, but malicious intimidation or harassment includes targeting someone based on their race.
The statute reads:
"No person shall maliciously and with specific intent to incite or produce, and which is likely to incite or produce, imminent violence, which violence would be directed against another person because of that person's race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin or disability, make or transmit, cause or allow to be transmitted, any telephonic, computerized, or electronic message."
- Previous coverage >> Police chief speaks on random shootings at north Tulsa library, QuikTrip
Police said Gilford went to the library and shot and killed Lundin Hathcock while he sat at a desk.Then officers say Gilford went to the nearby QuikTrip and shot James McDaniel in the head.
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