TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa Police Department told 2 News seven people died by homicide in January 2024.
Even though every death led to an arrest, it's more than normal.
Two weeks ago Thursday, 27-year-old Clifford Pizana was gunned down in the parking lot of a strip mall near 58th Street and Peoria Avenue.
His sister, Daja Pizana, spoke to 2 News just after police closed off the area.
"My brother is gone now but I just want him to get the justice he deserves,” Pizana said.
Tulsa police detectives believe Lekysha Davis saw Pizana with a few others after they allegedly stole a car, approached him and shot him multiple times.
Lt. Brandon Watkins told 2 News police tracked the 18-year-old Davis within a few blocks from the scene and charged them with first-degree murder on Wednesday.
"We don’t know why she did it. So that just, I guess, is a mystery,” Lt. Watkins.
His death is one of the seven January homicides in Tulsa, 2-3 more killings than usual, Lt. Watkins said.
"It was a busy month. And hopefully people have gotten all of the nonsense out of their systems and it’ll be nice and quiet,” he said.
For comparison, 2023 had 48 homicides in the city limits in 2023, a considerable drop from 69 in 2022.
Two homicides remain unsolved from last year, while three from 2022 are unsolved. Watkins said the final murder total for 2023 was the lowest in more than a decade.
Compared to similarly-sized cities, TPD has a strong solve rate.
"But once you start crowing about how great you’ve done so far, things go bad fast," Watkins said. "So you know, we take them one at a time.”
Lt. Watkins said he believes the city's communities will help bring the killings down through the rest of 2024.
"If these things do happen you just reach out and help police," he said. "We’ll get the person. We’ll put them in jail. And eventually people will get the message that you can’t get away with murder in the city of Tulsa.”
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