TULSA, Okla. An armed security guard has been arrested after police say he threw a lit firework at two women outside a Tulsa convenience store, injuring both victims.
According to the Tulsa Police Department, officers responded at approximately 2 p.m. on July 9 to a medical call at the Stop and Save convenience store near 152 N. Garnett Road.
EMSA personnel arrived before officers and began treating a 49-year-old woman and a 44-year-old woman. Paramedics advised dispatch that an armed security guard had struck the women with a firework.
Police said the suspect, identified as Joseph Baucom, was wearing a uniform resembling a police uniform and carrying a pistol when he approached the women on the south side of the business.
Investigators said Baucom ordered the women to leave the area before throwing a large, lit firework directly next to them.
The firework exploded, sending debris into both victims.
One woman suffered minor injuries to her face and was covered with black ash residue. The second woman was struck in the shoulder. Neither victim required immediate transportation to a hospital.
Officers reviewed surveillance video from the convenience store, which police said corroborated the victims' accounts. The footage allegedly showed Baucom ordering the women to leave an area where he had no authority, throwing the lit firework and stepping back as it exploded.
Store management told investigators Baucom was not employed by the business.
Officers later tracked Baucom to the nearby Woodcreek Apartments, where the security company he worked for provided services.
At approximately 4:50 p.m., officers contacted Baucom at the apartment office. He was still wearing his security uniform and carrying a loaded .45-caliber Glock pistol.
According to police, Baucom admitted throwing the firework but claimed it did not strike anyone.
He was arrested and booked into the David L. Moss Criminal Justice Center on two counts of assault with a dangerous weapon and one count of possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony.