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Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello Stabbed to Death Allegedly by Son

Police take Christian Costello, 27, into custody in the fatal stabbing of his father, Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello, Sunday evening.
Image: Christian Costello
Christian Costello, son of Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello, is placed in a police car, Sunday.Nate Billings / AP

An Oklahoma politician was stabbed to death by his son outside a restaurant, police said.

IMAGE: Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark Costello
Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Mark CostelloOklahoma Department of Labor

Officers found Labor Commissioner Mark Costello in a vehicle with stab wounds to the head and neck on Sunday night, said Oklahoma City police spokesman Paco Balderrama. Costello died later at a hospital.

Costello's son, Christian, 27, was arrested for first-degree murder, police said.

Image: Christian Costello
Christian Costello was arrested for first-degree murder, police said.Oklahoma City Police Department

The father and son had arranged to meet at the restaurant, police said. They got into an argument, and the younger Costello pulled a knife and attacked his father, who tried to flee into the parking lot, police said.

Patrick Spencer, who was driving nearby, said the men circled the building twice. He watched while he called 911.

"It was very cold, you know, the way he was walking after the victim," Spencer told NBC affiliate KFOR. There was never any rush to the entire thing."

Costello, a telecommunications and technology businessman, was elected labor commissioner in 2010. He was married with five children, according to the state's website.

Gov. Mary Fallin ordered flags to half-staff through the end of the week.