The authorities in Oklahoma were searching on Tuesday for a suspect who they believe killed four people “execution style” and injured one more in an attack at a rural marijuana farm on Sunday.
The suspect, whose name has not been released, knew the victims, but it is unclear how, Capt. Stan Florence of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said at a news conference on Monday.
“They all know each other,” he said. “Don’t know if they’re related, don’t know if they’re co-workers, but certainly, we believe they were all familiar with each other.”
The victims were all Chinese, the authorities said Tuesday, adding that “because of a significant language barrier, next of kin notification is pending.”
Brook Arbeitman, a spokeswoman with the bureau, said by phone on Tuesday that officials were still investigating what had motivated the killings. She added that officials were withholding the identity of the suspect because releasing it would put additional people in danger.
Deputies at the Kingfisher County Sheriff’s Office initially responded to calls of a hostage situation at the marijuana farm on Sunday.
At about 5:45 p.m. on Sunday, the suspect entered a building at the marijuana farm on a rural road near Hennessey, Okla. Several employees were inside the building at the time, Ms. Arbeitman said.
The suspect was inside the building “for a significant amount of time” before violence erupted, the authorities said.
Ms. Arbeitman said the three men and one woman had been shot and killed in a “violent, execution style manner.” She did not offer more specific information.
“It was clearly an execution and not just a random firing,” she said.
The person who was injured was still hospitalized on Tuesday, Ms. Arbeitman said.