TULSA, Oklahoma — A Tulsa community is mourning Mike and Mary Moore, a husband and wife who were fatally sh0t at their towing business only months after finalizing the adoption of their 12-year-old daughter.
The sh0oting happened at approximately 11 a.m. Friday, August 28, 2026, at Mike’s Towing, near North Garnett Road and Pine Street in Tulsa.
Police say Darius Jones and two other people arrived at the towing company in connection with a vehicle that had been towed or impounded.
What began as a dispute inside the business office soon became physical, according to investigators.
Tulsa Police said investigators reviewed surveillance footage from inside the business as they reconstructed what happened.
According to the department’s preliminary account, Jones allegedly pulled out a f1rearm and pointed it at Mike Moore.
Police say Mike then attempted to defend himself by drawing his own weapon.
Investigators allege Jones opened f1re, striking both Mike and Mary Moore.
Before collapsing from his own injur1es, Mike was able to return f1re and struck Jones in the arm.
Mary Moore was pronounced d3ad at the towing business.
Mike was rushed to a Tulsa-area hospital but later d1ed from his injur1es.
Jones was also transported to a hospital for treatment of the g*nsh0t wound to his arm. After being treated and released, police took him into custody.
He was subsequently booked into the Tulsa County Jail on two counts of m4rder.
The allegations against Jones remain accusations at this stage, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Police initially described the confrontation as involving a “repossessed” vehicle. More recent reporting has described the vehicle as impounded or towed, making it more accurate to say the confrontation concerned a vehicle being held at the towing business rather than definitively describing it as a repossession.
Investigators said two other people were with Jones when the group arrived at Mike’s Towing.
As of the latest publicly available updates, authorities had not announced m4rder charges against those other individuals, nor had police publicly identified them in the statements reviewed for this report.
The loss has been particularly devastating because Mike and Mary had recently expanded their family.
According to Catoosa First Church, where the couple were part of the church community, the Moores had finalized the adoption of their 12-year-old daughter earlier in 2026.
The church described Mike and Mary as caring people who regularly looked for opportunities to help others. A fundraiser was organized to assist with funeral expenses and provide continuing support for their daughter.
Joshua Katschke, an employee at Mike’s Towing who had known the couple for years, also remembered Mike and Mary as deeply generous and devoted to their faith.
Katschke said the couple treated employees like family and would help virtually anyone who needed assistance.
For him, Mike was more than an employer. Katschke said Mike provided him with work and a place to live, taught him important lessons and repeatedly emphasized the importance of family.
The Moore family later issued a statement through Catoosa First Church, thanking the community, first responders, law enforcement officers, friends and others who had offered prayers and support following the couple’s d3aths.
The family also requested privacy as relatives grieve.
The investigation remains active as authorities continue examining the circumstances surrounding the confrontation and the roles of everyone who was present.
For now, Darius Jones is the only publicly named suspect in the latest police information reviewed, and he faces two m4rder counts in connection with the d3aths of Mike Moore and Mary Moore.
Behind the criminal investigation is a devastating family loss: a 12-year-old girl whose adoption Mike and Mary had finalized only months earlier is now grieving both of her adoptive parents, while relatives, church members and employees rally around her.
The Tulsa Police Department has stressed that Jones’ arrest represents an accusation, not a conviction, and the courts will ultimately determine criminal responsibility.
