Norman man killed after allegedly attempting to burglarize ice cream shop
NORMAN, Okla. (KFOR) - A 35-year-old man is now dead after allegedly attempting to burglarize an ice cream shop on Lindsey and 12th Avenue SE.
Nearby business confirmed with News 4 the shooting took place at The Ice Creamatory.
Norman Police are releasing very few details about their investigation.
Lieutenant Ali Jaffery told KFOR officers responded to a 911 call at 1 a.m. on Thursday.
The caller said he had just shot someone in his business who was attempting to burglarize him, according to Norman Police.
As officers arrived on scene, the suspect was found dead.
Lt. Jaffery said as of Friday afternoon, there are no other known injuries occurring from this incident.
Although Lt. Jaffery didn't identify the suspect, Nicole Cass confirmed with KFOR it was her younger brother, Bryce Homan.
"That was my baby. He was goofy. He loved to ride dirt, four wheelers and do dumb stuff," said Cass. "He was an uncle and people loved him and he had boys and his family loved him so much. My mom is heartbroken and she's in Kentucky and can't even get here right now."
A nearby business employee told News 4 she was told by the Owner of the Ice Creamatory the store was robbed three weeks prior, so it put the business's Owner a bit on edge.
She explained what she was told unraveled between Homan and the Owner of the Ice Creamatory.
She said a man [Homan] allegedly broke into the store and went behind the counter where Homan was then confronted by the Creamatory's Owner.
She claims the Owner told her he thought Homan was reaching for what he thought was a weapon, causing him to shoot Homan.
Cass said she believes Homan did have a knife on him at the time.
Cass said she got a call Thursday from another family member about the passing of her brother.
She claims Homan's ID was found on his person, so that's how police were able to identify him.
Cass isn't sure why Homan was there Thursday morning and also doesn't think there was any sort of connection between him and The Ice Creamatory.
When News 4 spoke with Cass and two other family members, they said they had just spoken with the Oklahoma Medical Examiner's Office.
Cass claims based on what the ME has found, it may be ruled as a homicide.
Cass was not able to see Homan's body, but said the ME's Office told her he was shot at least three times, including in the back of the head.
"My brother's not the type of person to fight. My brother would have ran. He would have took off instead of trying to have a confrontation, you know, get out of here as quick as possible. He could run fast. You know, he would have tried to take off out of there and he would to try to reason his way out," explained Cass.
She said it appears Homan was ambushed and shot while he was running away.
"He's not a threat at that point," added Cass.
She and her family wanted to make clear they don't condone any criminal activity.
Homan does have a criminal history stemming back to 2014 where he was found guilty of larceny.
Cass said Homan should have been taken to jail if he was caught attempting to burglarize a business, but that he shouldn't have been shot and killed.
A red flag for Cass is Homan had his dog with him, Mr. Beans.
Cass said Mr. Beans is now on the loose and they're actively looking for him.
The family is also now planning Homan's funeral, but have expressed they're unable to afford one as they just finished financially recovering from their grandmother's funeral who recently passed away.
They have set up a GoFundMe with a monetary goal of $8,000.
In the meantime, the family is hoping to get closure through better understanding what happened to Homan Thursday morning.
Norman Police are investigating, but say they don't know how long the investigation will take.
Nearby businesses of The Ice Creamatory said they saw police come by Friday morning.
Lt. Jaffery said they're now looking for answers to whether this was a justified shooting or a shooting in self-defense.
"I thought he was going to watch the grand kids grow up and how to ride dirt bikes because he was the fun one and now he's gone," said Cass.
News 4 has requested the police report, but told it'll likely come next week.