OKLAHOMA CITY – An armed confrontation Monday between Oklahoma City police and a southeast OKC resident ended with a police shooting, an injured suspect in custody, and a body discovered already deceased.
Just before 6pm on February 16th, an OKCPD patrol officer was alerted to gunshots in the 5200 block of Harmon Drive in southeastern Oklahoma City.
A second officer, MSgt. Mathew Nelson, arrived to assist and found 50-year-old Steven Saathoff firing a pistol outside of his trailer home in the area.
Following a brief confrontation with police, Saathoff was shot by MSgt. Nelson, injured, and transported to an area hospital.
Investigators searching Saathoff’s trailer after the shooting then discovered the body of Saathoff’s 23-year-old son, Colten Saathoff, already deceased inside.
Area residents claimed after the shooting that Colten had approached a neighboring trailer with a pistol, firing on its residents and punching a woman before they fled inside. Steven then allegedly took the pistol and entered the neighbors’ trailer, where he reportedly continued to fire, before returning to his own trailer just before police arrived.
Information released by the OKCPD’s Public Information Office says that Colten Saathoff’s body appeared to have fatal gunshot wounds, but it remains unclear if they were self-inflicted or fired by his father or someone else.
Steven Saathoff remains in police custody in an area hospital.
Per OKCPD protocol for any police shooting (referred to internally as an “officer-involved shooting”) MSgt. Mathew Nelson has been placed on routine administrative leave pending a full investigation.
Note: At the time of publication, the details released by the police have not been tested in court. By law, individuals are presumed innocent until found guilty by a jury of their peers or through a guilty plea.
Brett Fieldcamp is the owner and Editor in Chief of Oklahoma City Free Press. He has been covering arts, entertainment, news, housing, and culture in Oklahoma for nearly two decades and served as Arts & Entertainment Editor before purchasing the company from founder Brett Dickerson in 2026.
He is also a musician and songwriter and holds a certification as Specialist of Spirits from The Society of Wine Educators.
