Key Takeaways
- A 16-year-old boy shot and killed his father after the man attacked him and his mother in their apartment.
- Police found the father dead from a gunshot wound; the boy was released after questioning.
- Public reaction was mixed, with some praising the boy’s actions while others questioned the justification for the shooting.
- Oklahoma law allows a person to use deadly force when they reasonably believe it’s necessary to prevent harm without a duty to retreat or warn first.
- If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, help is available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
TULSA, OKLA. — A 16-year-old boy grabbed a gun kept inside his family’s apartment and shot his father after police say the man attacked him and then turned on his mother.
Officers responded around 2 p.m. on May 31 to a shooting at the Avondale Apartments near 67th Street and Utica Avenue.
The boy’s mother called for help and told police her husband, 49-year-old Andrey Nears, attacked their son and then began assaulting her. The teen grabbed the firearm and shot Nears in response.
Officers arrived to find Nears dead with a gunshot wound to the head.
Police questioned the 16-year-old and released him. The Tulsa County District Attorney’s Office will review the case to decide whether any charges will be filed.
Police classified the death as Tulsa’s 21st homicide of 2026. That label only means one person killed another. It is a neutral cause-of-death classification and does not by itself signal a crime or a charge to come.
The story drew a heavy response online. Most readers called the teen brave for protecting his mother, while voicing real concern for the trauma a 16-year-old now has to carry.
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A smaller group pushed back, arguing the shooting was not justified and that the boy should have warned his father before pulling the trigger.
Oklahoma law says otherwise. A person who is somewhere he has a right to be has no duty to retreat and may meet force with force, including deadly force, when he reasonably believes it is necessary to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or another. There is no requirement to issue a warning first. A son watching his mother get beaten is under no obligation to give a violent attacker a courtesy heads up.
If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic abuse, help is available through the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or by texting START to 88788.
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