Arkansas State Police release more details on grocery store shooting

State police released more information on Friday about a mass shooting in a small Arkansas town.

The shooting occurred at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce. Three people died immediately after the incident. On Saturday, it was announced that the death toll had risen to four.

A total of eleven other civilians were injured, four victims are still in the hospital. Two police officers were also shot; both have since been released from the hospital. On Sunday, the Arkansas State Police provided media representatives with further details about the incident.

State Police Director Col. Mike Hagar did not identify the suspected shooter by name. He said during the incident, the suspect fired “indiscriminately at customers and employees.” The shooting occurred inside the grocery store.

The entire incident lasted only a few minutes because police were able to arrive on the scene quickly. One of the officers who responded to the shooting was Dallas County Sheriff Mike Knoedl.

As the suspect was leaving the grocery store, police opened fire. He was then subdued and taken to the hospital. The suspect is now being held in the Ouachita County Jail rather than the closer Dallas County Jail. Hagar said this was intended to create some “separation.”

Hagar said the crime was “personal” because it was a small town where everyone knew each other well. Police reportedly knew both the shooter and the victim.

Police said they were still working to determine the suspect’s motive, but there was no evidence so far that the shooter specifically targeted any of the victims. As far as police could tell, it was a “random, senseless act.”

One of the victims was 23-year-old Callie Weems, a nurse at the nearby Dallas County Medical Center. During the shooting, Weems stayed to administer first aid. She was killed while trying to help another gunshot victim.

“During the incident, we saw the best and the worst sides of humanity,” Hagar said.

The suspected shooter is currently in police custody and faces four counts of capital murder. Hagar said he could not comment on the charges but said the death penalty is “on the table.”