Shooting in Fordyce, Arkansas: 3 dead, 10 injured after shooting in grocery store

CNN
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Three people were killed and 10 injured in a shooting at a grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas, Arkansas State Police said at a press conference on Friday.

Two police officers are among the 10 injured. The suspected shooter, identified by authorities as 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey, was also injured and taken into custody.

Posey, a New Edinburg resident, is expected to face three counts of felony murder, with additional charges pending, according to an Arkansas State Police news release.

The first calls about an active shooter at the Mad Butcher grocery store came to police around 11:30 a.m. local time, Mike Hagar, secretary of public safety and director of the Arkansas State Police, said at the news conference.

The police reacted immediately and exchanged fire with the “sole suspect.”

The injuries to the officers and suspect are not considered life-threatening, according to Hagar. He noted that the “situation is secure … under control. There is no active threat to the community.”

“The remaining injuries to the civilian population range from non-life-threatening to extremely critical,” he said.

Posey was “treated for non-life-threatening injuries following an exchange of gunfire with police, taken into ASP custody and transported to the Ouachita County Detention Center,” ASP’s press release said. It is unclear if Posey has retained legal counsel at this time.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, at least 234 mass shootings have occurred in the United States in 2024. Like CNN, the archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are shot, not including the shooter. In recent weeks, as the summer heat increased, the country has seen a spate of shootings. Since last Friday, the archive has recorded 21 mass shootings.

In a statement to X, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she had been informed of the “tragic shooting” in Fordyce and was in “constant contact” with state police on the scene.

A witness, David Rodriguez, told CNN he had just pulled into a gas station when he heard “banging noises” that he thought were fireworks. Shortly after the suspect began shooting at an increasing rate, Rodriguez saw people running from the scene. He then heard sirens and saw ambulances and police arrive at the scene.

Rodriguez says the windows of the Mad Butcher grocery store were shattered, as if they had been “shot open” by gunfire.

Matthew Gill, the meat manager at Mad Butcher, told CNN that a man entered the store with a shotgun and a shootout with police ensued.

During the shooting, some people were hiding in a cooler inside the grocery store, Fordyce City Council member Roderick Rogers told CNN affiliate KATV. He said he was on the phone with someone inside the store when the shooting occurred.

“Man, it was bad,” Rogers said.

The council member said he had spoken to survivors of the shooting who were “traumatized.”

“We are trying to get some advice and get everything else in place at the moment,” he added.

Fordyce, a small town in southeastern Dallas County, had a population of only 3,396 in 2020.

This is a developing story and will be updated.