At least one person has died and 24 others have been injured, including children, after a shooting outside a car show in Arkansas on Saturday, police confirmed early Sunday morning.
Arkansas State Police said in a news release Sunday that one person was in custody and authorities were searching for others who may have fired into the crowd Saturday evening. Additional information, including conditions of the wounded, wasn’t immediately available.
Keith Finch, police chief of Dumas, Arkansas,
told Monticello Live that the shooting started around 6:50 p.m. local time and that “multiple gunmen just started shooting” at the parking lot of a former Fred’s Dollar Store. The outlet reported that two helicopters were evacuating victims to larger hospitals for more specific treatment.
There were two different incidents that occurred in the area—one was a high-speed pursuit that resulted in a head-on crash, and the second was the shooting in the parking lot, according to
local outlet KARK.
“Victims are being taken to local hospitals in McGehee and Dumas, with one child being transported to the Arkansas Children’s Hospital. At least two victims have been airlifted from the parking lot,” reported KARK.
Arkansas State Police spokesman Bill Sadler earlier told multiple outlets that police were called to Dumas at about 7:25 p.m. local time after an “initial report of a shooting outside a local business where a car show was underway.”
Dumas is located about 90 miles south of Little Rock.
“Saying prayers for entire Dumas community after tonight’s senseless & tragic shooting as families with young children gathered for community event on Sat. evening,” Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin
said on Twitter. “God Bless the law enforcement officers who are on the scene responding,”
The car show was holding its 16th annual event, which is held each spring to raise funds for scholarships and school supplies, according to the Delta Neighborhood Empowerment Youth Organization, also known as the Hood-Nic Foundation, which put on the event.
“We are heartbroken and in shock at what took place during tonight’s car show. Several people were shot by an unknown suspect. The full extent of injuries has not yet been disclosed,” the organizers
said on Facebook late Saturday. “State Patrol is currently investigating the situation. We will release more details as they come in. If you know anything, please report it to the authorities.
“The purpose of Hood-Nic has always been to bring the community together. This senseless violence needs to end. Sending our prayers.”
Wallace McGehee, the car show’s lead organizer,
told KATV at the scene that the event has not had a problem in all the years it’s been held. “For something like this to happen, it’s a tragedy,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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