21 year old Nigerian studentcharged with murder in the US.

A 21year old Nigerian student, Sampson Blake
Oguntope, 21, is being charged with murder in regard to
a fatal Slaton shooting which left one woman dead and
another injured
The Texas Tech student is currently in police custody
at the Lubbock County Detention Center and his bail
was raised to at least $5 million — formerly
$500,000.
Steven Wheeler, chief of the Slaton Police Department,
said originally Oguntope, a Houston native, was a
person of interest regarding the homicide and he was
detained at the Detention Center on charges of theft.
Slaton police found Faye Gray, 89, and her female
caretaker, 21, had both sustained gunshot wounds.
Gray was pronounced dead at the scene while the
younger woman was transported to University Medical
Center for treatment. Her condition is described as
stable.
Lubbock police asked that the caretaker’s name not be
revealed because of the sensitivity of the case.
Wheeler said the police are not releasing any additional
information regarding charges against Oguntope at this
time.
Members of the Lubbock County Sheriff’s office were
dispatched to 1480 W. Crosby St. in Slaton to assist
the Slaton Police Department with a homicide
investigation, according to a news release by the
Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office.
Wheeler said at 8:12 a.m. authorities received a
complaint that a black male had made contact with a
Slaton resident and was asking personal questions,
including what times the resident went to work and
would return home. Wheeler said the resident said
Oguntope was asking if a woman around 21 years old
lived at the home.
Authorities later received information that Oguntope’s
white Honda was found at the Knights Inn on Highway
84 near Slaton.
When police confronted Oguntope at the inn, he told
them he was looking for a woman he had been talking to
and went to the wrong address.
When confronted about why he was at Knights Inn,
Oguntope said he wanted to use the hotel’s wireless
Internet.
According to a statement released by the Slaton Police
Department, “Sampson did not seem to be nervous or
act suspicious to the officers (and) Sampson was not
wanted for any warrants at the time of this contact.”
The Slaton Police Department then received a call at
11:48 a.m. claiming there was a white female bleeding
within the 1400 block of West Crosby Street in Slaton.
Wheeler said Lt. Trevor Barnes was the first officer
on the scene and advised the police chief to
investigate a residence near the end of the 1400 block.
Wheeler said he and Slaton detective David Wood
arrived at 1480 W. Crosby St. and found an elderly
woman dead at the scene, appearing to have sustained
a gunshot wound.
Barnes and another officer told Wheeler that the
younger victim stated the intruder was a black male
with a white car.
“I immediately had officers clear the house to make sure
the suspect was not still in this residence,” Wheeler
said. “I then contacted the Lubbock County Sheriff’s
Department and Texas Rangers to assist. I had my
dispatch put out a state-wide search for the vehicle
and possible suspect.”
Wheeler said Lubbock County police arrived at the
scene shortly after, where they collectively decided to
lock down the crime scene and begin searching houses
nearby to assure there were no more victims. Wheeler
also said they were assisted by the Lubbock County
SWAT team and the Department of Public
Transportation launched an air unit to aid in the search.
“I want to personally thank Lubbock County Sherriff’s
Department, DPS Highway Patrol, Texas Rangers and
Texas Tech PD in their efforts in assisting my agency,”
Wheeler said. “We have had so many resources helping
solve this crime but more importantly keeping this
suspect from injuring more people.”
Wheeler said authorities discovered the person of
interest lived in Lubbock and was enrolled as a student
at Tech. After contacting the Texas Tech Police
Department, they found Oguntope’s vehicle was
entered under Tech property. Tech PD, DPS and the
Texas Rangers tried locating him on campus, and the
Lubbock SWAT team set surveillance on Oguntope’s
residence in north Lubbock at 3620 Marshall St.
Oguntope was arrested in Lubbock at his address. The
Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office said two other
individuals — Charles Henry Burgess, 28, and Philip
Michael Murphy, 26 — were also arrested for
attempting to prevent officers from conducting an
investigation at the property.
“As Chief of Police for the City of Slaton I want to
ensure our community that the Slaton Police
Department works hard every day so that we have a
safe community,” Wheeler said. “Slaton is a small farm
town and our community pulls together like family. This
is a tragic event and our prayers go out to the victims
and their families.