On Mother’s Day evening, May 8, 1994, 19-year-old Mario Valentino Brooks, known as Tino, left his home in Duncan, Oklahoma, after saying goodbye to his mother and went with his older brother Corey to the Family Barbecue Social Club just outside Tatums. A fight broke out at the club and a gun was fired into the crowd. Mario was struck by a bullet in the right side of his abdomen and, despite his brother and friends rushing him to Healdton Hospital with Corey performing CPR en route, he died at the hospital.

Mario was born November 20, 1974. He was a loving father, son, and brother and a popular athlete at Duncan High School known for pranks and making people laugh. Investigators identified three male suspects, aged about 21 to 24, but no charges were ever filed; witness noncooperation at the club was said to have hampered the inquiry. The case later went cold, though a tip arrived in 2019 that has not produced arrests.

If anyone was at the Family Barbecue Social Club that night or has information about what happened, please come forward.