Gunshots Fired at Police Helicopter in Oklahoma

A police helicopter in Oklahoma was forced to dodge gunfire after a suspect opened fire at the chopper in the early hours of Monday, according to local reports.

Police in Tulsa said they were called to reports that a man was firing shots in the air near 56th Street North and Frankfort, local channel News on 6 reported.

A Tulsa Police Department helicopter was deployed and headed towards the scene, when the man allegedly aimed his gun at the aircraft and began shooting at it overhead. The suspect was later arrested.

The incident comes amid a spate of gun crime across the nation that has sparked a fierce debate about gun control, left politicians of all sides unable to answer how to fix the problem, and led to multiple countries issuing warnings to their citizens considering traveling to the U.S. The Gun Violence Archive, a database that collects information about shootings across the country, has calculated that 39,801 people have died after being shot so far this year, although that figure also includes suicides and accidental deaths.

There are no reports of any injuries relating to Monday's incident in Tulsa. It remains unclear whether the helicopter was actually struck by a bullet.

Police on the ground were able to find the suspect and arrest him, but he has not yet been publicly identified by the authorities, according to reports.

Newsweek has contacted the Tulsa Police Department by email seeking further information and comment.

This is a developing story and will be updated as further details are released.

The incident in Tulsa follows a string of high-profile shootings across Oklahoma that have rocked the state in recent years.

Gunfire broke out at a high school basketball game in Oklahoma City back in January, with the incident captured on a live stream of the event. Footage showed the shock and panic of those in the gymnasium, which was packed with up to 500 people, and a man was shot and injured in the melee.

A few months later, in May this year, the fatal shooting of two white men was categorized as a hate crime after the murders in Tulsa. Both victims had been shot in the back of the head, one while he was at a public library.

Last year, a mass shooting at a Tulsa medical clinic left five people dead, including the shooter. A gunman armed with a rifle prowled the halls of the Natalie Building at St. Francis Hospital.

That particular incident came just days after a school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two adults were murdered.

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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

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