Suspect ID’d in Arkansas grocery store shooting that left 3 dead and several injured, including 2 police officers: cops
Three people were killed and at least 11 others – including two police officers – were wounded in a mass shooting at a grocery store in Arkansas Friday morning.
The suspect – identified by the Ouachita County Sheriff’s Office as Travis Posey, 44, – was shot by law enforcement and is now in custody.
Posey, a trucker, was previously arrested in 2011 for possessing a handgun at the gates of a New York military base near the Canadian border.
Eleven civilians were shot – three of them fatally – at the Mad Butcher in Fordyce, Mike Hagar, the Secretary of Arkansas Dept. of Public Safety and the Director of the Arkansas State Police said at a press conference.
Police received 911 calls reporting a shooting around 11:38 a.m., Hagar explained.
Two law enforcement officers were also shot, and their injuries are not considered life-threatening.
Posey’s injuries are also non-life threatening.
A motive was unclear as of Friday afternoon.
Some of the civilian victims are in critical condition, Hagar added.
“It’s tragic, our hearts are broken,” he said.
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders already pledged all necessary resources in the aftermath of the shooting, Hagar confirmed.
A Facebook video posted at 11:59 a.m. local time indicated at least 11 shots were fired at the scene.
“There’s somebody lying in the parking lot, shot,” the person who posted the video, Casey D. Rodriguez, said in the footage.
Medical helicopters were spotted landing near the scene shortly before 1:30 p.m., according to a video posted by KARK 4 News’ Greg Yarborough.
Several shell casings also still littered the ground, reporter Tylisa Hampton posted.
“I am thankful to law enforcement and first responders for their quick and heroic action to save lives. My prayers are with the victims and all those impacted by this horrific incident,” Gov. Huckabee Sanders posted online ahead of the afternoon presser.
Posey, a truck driver from New Edinburg, Ark., was arrested in New York in 2011 for possessing a handgun at the Fort Drum military base in Watertown, about 30 miles from the Canadian border, a local outlet wrote at the time.
He was charged with 4th-degree criminal possession of a weapon but pleaded down to disorderly conduct in the town of LeRay Court. Police confiscated the gun and he paid a fine of $200.
Arkansas State Police said late Friday that Posey was being charged with three counts of capital murder with additional charges pending.
