08/26/2026
On the evening of Tuesday August 18, 2026, CCSO deputies and deputy marshals of the Cherokee Nation Marshal Service responded to the Welling area of Cherokee County to a 911 report of repeated screaming being heard in a wooded area.
Upon arriving, deputies and deputy marshals spoke with several residents in the area and were given an area to focus their search. A wooded area was searched and deputies and deputy marshals found nobody screaming. A drone was brought to the scene and flown in hopes of covering and searching the area more thoroughly. As the drone was being flown, somebody in the area fired 5-6 r***e shots at CCSO deputies and CNMS deputy marshals. The r***e bullet strikes came as close as two feet to the deputies and deputy marshals. Additional law enforcement officers responded to the area and after searching for several hours, the shooting suspect was not located.
In the days that followed, sufficient probable cause was established to request a felony arrest warrant for 41-year-old IAN ALEXANDER BOWLINE for shooting at CCSO deputies and CNMS deputy marshals on the evening of August 18, 2026. BOWLINE is a resident of the area deputies were called to that evening and is a convicted felon. A search warrant for BOWLINE’s residence was also obtained.
On Tuesday August 18, 2026, IAN ALEXANDER BOWLINE was arrested at his residence, less than 200 yards from the area the r***e shots struck near CCSO deputies and CNMS deputy marshals on the evening of August 18. Upon executing the search warrant for BOWLINE’s residence, seven r***es, five sh****ns, three handguns and several thousand rounds of fi***rm am******on were seized.
BOWLINE was transported to the Cherokee County Detention Center and will either be prosecuted by the State of Oklahoma or Federal prosecutors since he is a previously convicted felon.