Man accused of attacking woman with sword, and shooting three family members awaiting formal charges

Metro police are releasing more details surrounding a horrific weekend crime spree that stretched from Oklahoma City to Norman.

Mark Shepherd, 25, is accused of attacking a woman with a sword---and then driving to Norman, where he's accused of shooting three of his relatives.

“It’s a shame, I really feel bad about it, you just never know what people are going to do,” said Norman resident Ed Burgess. 

Burgess was in his home on Saturday when the sound of sirens and racing police caught his attention

“Why they got so many cop cars going down that way?” said Burgess.              

He stepped outside as police, paramedics, and firefighters lined the street.

“I came outside and said something bad must have happened,” said Burgess.

Burgess learned three people were shot---including a 55-year-old man who was killed.  

“The initial caller was one of the victims that contacted us and said three individuals had been shot inside this residence,” said Sarah Schettler, spokeswoman for the Norman Police Department.

Burgess’s 78-year-old neighbor was one of two women who survived. 

“I said she’s such a nice lady. i talked to her several times, she’s always real nice and I can’t imagine anything bad happening down there,” said Burgess.

Burgess later learned Mark Shepherd, his neighbor’s grandson, was accused in the shooting.

“I didn’t know if he lived here completely or not, but she’d been trying to help him,” said Burgess.

Neighbors said Shepherd was seen driving away from his grandmother’s home.

“Someone saw him take off in a red pickup--went flying down the street,” said Burgess.         

Police spotted Shepherd in his pickup and arrested him within minutes of the call for help.

“They asked him to put his hands outside the window, he opens the door, he stuck his hands out and walked backwards,” said Schettler.

Once in custody, Norman police learned---Shepherd was also believed to be responsible for an attack earlier that day at this Buddhist monastery near Southeast 59th and Anderson.

According to Oklahoma City investigators, Shephered, while armed with a sword, entered the building and attacked a receptionist, a 46-year-old woman.

With Shepherd’s motive uncertain, Burgess says in the days leading up to the violence on Saturday, neighbors had expressed concern. 

“Telling her she had better do something with that boy, that he’s problems,” said Burgess.   

According to Norman investigators, two of Shepherd's relatives who survived the initial attack remained hospitalized and are expected to recover. The woman who was injured in the monastery remains hospitalized in critical condition.

The Buddha Mind Monastery in Oklahoma City remains closed.