UPDATE: 6/23/24: Arkansas State Police said the gunman, armed with a shotgun and wearing a bandolier, exited his pickup truck and began “engaging” with customers in the parking lot before he entered the Mad Butcher and opened fire indiscriminately on customers and employees.
During a press conference Sunday afternoon, the agency confirmed that “dozens” of rounds were fired during the entire incident. Police were on scene within 3 minutes of the first shot, and the suspect was shot down within 5 minutes, Col. Mike Hagar said.
One of the victims who died, 23-year-old registered nurse Callie Weems, was attempting to render aid to a fellow gunshot victim when the gunman shot her.
South Arkansas Reckoning: Friends of gunman ‘shocked’ by mass shooting
One of the victims remains hospitalized in critical condition.
A motive for the shooting remains unclear. The suspect remains in custody at the Ouachita County Detention Center in Camden, and under “constant law enforcement supervision.”
UPDATE 6/22/24: A fourth victim injured in the Fordyce grocery store shooting died Saturday evening. Those killed in the shooting were all civilians. They were: Shirley Taylor, 62; Callie Weems, 23; Roy Sturgis, 50; and Ellen Shrum, 81
ORIGINAL STORY: FORDYCE, Arkansas — This sleepy town of about 3,300 residents in rural South Arkansas had a rude awakening late Friday morning when a gunman opened fire at a grocery store, taking the lives of three people and wounding 11 others.
SOUTH ARKANSAS RECKONING: Gunman’s property paints a picture
News of the incident was initially broken on social media when a customer of a nearby gas station customer posted video of the parking lot as several gunshots rang out. The shots heard on the video sounded as though they had been fired from a shotgun rather from than a semi-automatic rifle first reported on social media. However, police officials at the time of this writing had not confirmed what type of firearm was used in the shooting.
At about 11:38 a.m. Friday, June 21, 2024, the Fordyce Police Department responded to a report of an active shooter outside the Mad Butcher, located on West 4th Street, the main commercial district of Fordyce.
Upon law enforcement’s arrival police exchanged gunfire with alleged gunman, 44-year-old Travis Joey Posey, of New Edinburg. Two officers were hurt in the gunfire.
Col. Mike Hagar, spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, said in a press conference later that afternoon that three civilians died in the shooting.
Posey was also shot and taken into custody. He was transported to the Ouachita County Jail in nearby Camden.
By noon a large area surrounding the grocery store — including several blocks of state Highway 8, the city’s main drag — had been taped off, with numerous law enforcement agencies in the area.
At 3:30 p.m. Hagar confirmed that the area had been “secured and contained” with no further active threats from the gunman.
Hagar told reporters that injuries to both the Posey and officers were non-life-threatening; however, bystanders who were hit in the gunfire had injuries ranging from non-life-threatening to “extremely critical.”
Hagar said the investigation on Friday remained in its early stages and that the Arkansas State Police was the lead investigative agency.
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