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Inset: Nolan Dain Engel (McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The area in Oklahoma where Engel allegedly shot and killed a friend during his bachelor party (Google Maps).
A 22-year-old man, poised to become a groom, has been accused of fatally shooting a friend during his bachelor party at an Airbnb in Oklahoma.
Nolan Dain Engel was apprehended on Saturday and now faces a charge of second-degree murder for the death of his 21-year-old friend, Braden Uhlmann, as announced by local authorities.
The Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) reported that the tragic incident unfolded shortly before 1 a.m. on April 4. It was then that deputies from the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office responded to a shooting at a residence on Rockhill Circle in Broken Bow, roughly 240 miles southeast of Oklahoma City.
Upon reaching the scene, emergency responders discovered Uhlmann with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was swiftly transported to a nearby hospital, where, tragically, he succumbed to his injuries.
The McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office brought in the OSBI to delve into the circumstances surrounding the shooting. Agents conducted an interview with Engel, who acknowledged his presence at the residence at the time of the incident.
“Based on the information and evidence obtained, it was determined that Engel shot Uhlmann,” the agency said in the release.
Court documents obtained by Sherman, Texas, ABC affiliate KXII provided additional details surrounding the circumstances of the shooting. According to the report, Engel allegedly made “spontaneous statements to arriving officers regarding himself as the shooter.”
Investigators said Engel told them he had been staying at the cabin with three friends as part of a trip for his bachelor party. While inside the cabin, Engel reportedly claimed he heard “knocking noises” and saw what he believed to be a person’s shadow just outside the cabin’s front door.
In response, Engel allegedly fired a single shot from a 9 mm handgun.
After firing, Engel and another friend went outside, which is where they discovered Uhlmann lying on the front porch suffering from a gunshot wound to the upper chest.
It was not immediately clear whether Uhlmann was armed at the time of the shooting.
OSBI said no other injuries were reported and described the case as an ongoing investigation.
Engel was initially taken into custody and booked into the McCurtain County Jail, but has since been released after posting a $250,000 bond, court records show. He is currently scheduled to make his next appearance in court on April 28.
The OSBI said it is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the shooting, with assistance from the McCurtain County Sheriff’s Office and the Hochatown Police Department.