On April 5, 2025, 43-year-old Jerry Silas, a Black/African American man from Stillwater, Oklahoma, was shot once in the head during an altercation inside an apartment on North Boomer Road. He was transported first to Stillwater Medical Center, then airlifted to OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City, where he died the following day.

Witnesses at the scene described an argument between Silas and 47-year-old Damon Eugene Thomas Sr., after which they heard a loud bang and found Silas bleeding on a coffee table while Thomas allegedly held a small semiautomatic pistol. Witnesses say Thomas then forced them to leave with him at gunpoint; they escaped at a convenience store and alerted authorities.

An arrest warrant for first-degree manslaughter after a former felony conviction was issued for Damon Eugene Thomas Sr. on April 7, 2025. With U.S. Marshals assistance he was located and taken into custody in Oklahoma City and transported to the Payne County Jail. The investigation is ongoing and the family has asked for justice.

If anyone was at the apartment or saw events on North Boomer Road that evening, please share what was seen or heard.