Suspect arrested for shooting 15-year-old at Tulsa church event

7/29 UPDATE: Tulsa Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect Tuesday morning in connection with the deadly church shooting. News On 6 is not releasing his name at this time due to his age.

A 15-year-old boy is dead after a shooting at a Tulsa church event.

It happened at a community outreach event at St. Thomas More Catholic Church near 31st and 129th East Avenue on Sunday night.

Tulsa Police say they know who the suspect is, but are still looking for him.

What led to the shooting?

A fun night of food, music, and dancing outside St. Thomas More Catholic Church turned to tragedy when 15-year-old Alexander Puentes was shot and killed.

The church was hosting its monthly community outreach event when a fight broke out between Puentes and another teenager. Police learned the two teenagers had been fighting since earlier in the day.

"These two kids got into a fight again, after the event concluded, and then unfortunately, one of the kids contacted a friend or colleague who is an adult in his 20s. He came over, and he had a gun. The situation escalated, and that suspect went and shot that teenager," said Captain Richard Meulenberg with Tulsa Police.

What have we learned about the victim?

Puentes was shot in the stomach and was taken to the hospital, where he later died.

Saints Peter and Paul School posted on social media Monday about Puentes, saying he was a beloved and faithful member of the church and served with joy and dedication.

The post said he was a student at the school from 2023 to 2024.

"Here we have a situation where the community is trying to do the right thing. They are trying to bring people together to quell some of this violence, and violence happens there. We have to look at this globally. What are we doing? What's going on here? How do we solve these problems? The police, community and our partners out there," said Meulenberg.

Captain Meulenberg says it's unfortunate they continue to see this senseless violence because people can't control their emotions.

"You have this escalation of tension, escalation of emotion, leading to someone shooting at someone else. So, this is happening a lot in our youth, and these people that are shooting shouldn't have guns to begin with," said Meulenberg.

Statement from the Diocese of Tulsa and Eastern Oklahoma:  

"BROKEN ARROW — It was with much sorrow that the Catholic Diocese of Tulsa learned of the death of a young man as a result of gun violence at the St. Thomas More Catholic Church in east Tulsa on Sunday night.

An all-day parish festival that was intended to be a time of joy and celebration turned tragic when a young man was shot by someone not affiliated with the parish. The young man was transported to the hospital but, unfortunately, did not survive.

We ask our entire Catholic community to pray for the soul of this young man, and we grieve together with his family and members of the St. Thomas More parish who knew him.

Bishop David Konderla will celebrate a Mass of Healing and Peace for the community at 7 p.m. Tuesday at St. Thomas More, 2720 S 129th E Ave., Tulsa.

The Diocese of Tulsa and St. Thomas More wish to extend our most sincere gratitude to the Tulsa Police Department and to the emergency medical professionals for their rapid response to this tragic incident."