Tulsa County District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler is recovering at home after being stabbed multiple times by his adult daughter.
Police Captain Richard Meulenberg said TPD received a call from the district attorney saying his daughter had stabbed herself and then stabbed him during an altercation Tuesday night.
Tulsa police arrived at the district attorney's south Tulsa home after 3 p.m.
"When we first got there, the fire department was wrestling with the daughter," Meulenberg said. "We understand that she's got some mental health issues which is what precipitated the incident."
Both the district attorney and his daughter were transferred to the hospital. Kunzweiler was released Tuesday evening while his daughter is still receiving treatment at the hospital.
While his team has received training on how to handle mental health situations, Captain Meulenberg said it's not possible to be prepared for everything.
"In this situation, the responding officers and the fire personnel, they encountered someone who had done a horrible act," Meulenberg explained. "They did what they would do — they wrestled with them, the subdued them, and we took that person into custody."
Meulenberg said police are waiting for Kunzweiler's daughter to be released from the hospital so they book her into jail on charges of domestic violence and assault with a deadly weapon
This is not the first time an elected Oklahoma official has been stabbed by a family member. In 2019, Tulsa District Judge Sharon Holmes was stabbed by her adult daughter and in 2015, Labor Commissioner Mark Costello was killed by his adult son.
District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler commented on the incident during a press conference held at the Tulsa Police Department on Wednesday.
Members of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services celebrated this year’s state budget which included$340 million to fund mental health and substance use services.
Officials said it was a 5.8% increase over the previous year’s funding mark.
