Rodney Kyle Branch, 51, was shot and killed in the early morning hours of March 19, 2021, while riding his bicycle near NW 28th Street and Woodward in Oklahoma City. The encounter involved a 15-year-old male and escalated to gunfire; Branch was taken to OU Medical Center and later died of his wounds.

Shortly after that shooting, police responded to another nearby shooting in the 3100 block of NW 34th Street where the same 15-year-old had accidentally shot himself. Investigators connected the two scenes and identified Michael Williams as the suspect in Branch’s death. Williams was treated for his wound and then booked into the Oklahoma County Detention Center on a complaint of first-degree murder. The motive for the altercation has not been established.

Branch was described by loved ones as generous, funny, and boisterous; he enjoyed working on cars and tinkering with electronics, graduated from Western Heights High School, and is survived by a son and a daughter. Does anyone have information about what led to the confrontation that morning?