A man who has been charged with the Oklahoma Good Friday killings was known to African-American residents in Tulsa and may have known one of the victims, according to news reports.

Jacob C. England, 19, who is said to be Cherokee, grew up around African-Americans, one resident said. His father was killed two years ago this month at an apartment complex in the predominantly African-American North Tulsa area.

“Jake was a good kid,” Anthony Thompson told The New York Times. “That’s why I couldn’t understand it. I think he was influenced, because he was raised up among blacks.”

The Good Friday killings took place near the Comanche Park Apartments, where England's father was killed in April 2010. England frequently visited the complex because his sister and her boyfriend lived there, The Tulsa World reported.

One of the murdered victims was William Allen, 31, who knew England from the apartment complex, Allen's wife said. Two other African-American men were killed, while two others suffered injuries after being shot.

England and Alvin L. Watts, 32, have been charged with murder and other crimes in connection with the killings.

Get the Story:
Death Comes to the Vacant Lots of North Tulsa (The New York Times 4/12)
Tulsa shooting victims' families speak up about killings (The Tulsa World 4/12)

Related Stories:
Suspects in Oklahoma killings reportedly confess to crime (4/10)
Man said to be Cherokee is arrested for killings in Oklahoma (4/9)