Arkansas shooting victim was treating injured when she was killed, police say

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An Arkansas shooting victim was fatally shot while treating the gunshot wounds of another victim in a shooting at a supermarket in Fordyce, Arkansas.

Travis Posey, 44, is accused of opening fire at the Mad Butcher grocery store in the small Arkansas town at 11:38 a.m. on Friday, June 21. The massacre left four people dead and ten others injured, including the shooter.

During the incident, “we saw the best and the worst of humanity,” Arkansas State Police Col. Mike Hagar said at a news conference on Sunday.

He was referring to Callie Weems, 23, who was in the grocery store when the shooting broke out.

“Instead of fleeing the store, she rendered aid to the victim – one of the most selfless acts I have ever seen,” Hagar said. The gunman then shot Weems. She later succumbed to her injuries, leaving behind her 10-month-old baby.

The police are still unclear about Posey’s motive. “It was just a completely random, senseless act,” the colonel said.

He added that understanding the motive will be at the heart of their investigation. At this point, there appears to have been “no personal connection” between the shooter and the victims, but rather the victims were merely “targets of opportunity.”

In the parking lot outside the store, Posey “harassed” customers, then entered the Mad Butcher and began “indiscriminately” shooting customers and employees, Hagar said.

The shooter had a 12-gauge shotgun, a pistol and a magazine with dozens of extra shotgun shells, Hagar said. Posey fired “dozens” of shots – almost all of them from the shotgun.

The colonel added that Hagar had limited, if any, criminal history. The gunman was injured in the exchange of gunfire with police — who responded to the incident within three minutes, Hagar said. Posey was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and then taken to the Ouachita County Detention Center.

Hagar said authorities wanted to “make sure he is held accountable for his despicable actions.”

Posey is charged with four capital crimes and has other charges pending. “The capital crime charge would carry the death penalty,” Hagar said.

The colonel described Friday’s tragedy as an example of “unspeakable violence.”

In total, in addition to the shooter, eleven civilians and two police officers were shot dead.

On Sunday morning, police released Weems’ identity, along with those of three other people who have since died: Shirley Taylor, 62, Roy Sturgis, 50, and Ellen Shrum, 81.

Four of the injured are still in hospital, police said, including a woman in critical condition.

The other three were treated and released from hospital on Friday. Police did not release their identities.