One particular person was killed and 24 folks had been wounded after gunfire erupted throughout a automobile present that’s a part of an annual neighborhood occasion in a small southeast Arkansas city, authorities mentioned Sunday.
Police haven’t mentioned what led to Saturday night time’s capturing in Dumas, however Gov. Asa Hutchinson mentioned on Twitter there have been two suspects. Considered one of them had been arrested and was being held on unrelated fees.
At the very least six kids had been among the many wounded.
“Because the investigation continues, I’ll study particulars to see if there are any steps that might have been taken to forestall one of these tragedy,” Hutchinson mentioned.
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—@AsaHutchinson
Dumas is a metropolis of about 4,000 situated 144 kilometres south of Little Rock. Every spring, the automobile present is a part of a neighborhood occasion referred to as Hood-Nic, which is brief for neighbourhood picnic. The Hood-Nic Basis says on its web site that its mission is to “rebuild, reunite, and reply to the wants of the youth in our communities.”
The occasion, which helps elevate funds for scholarships and faculty provides, additionally included a bonfire, a basketball event, musical performances, a teen celebration and a balloon launch.
“The aim of Hood-Nic has all the time been to deliver the neighborhood collectively,” the inspiration mentioned on its Fb web page. “This mindless violence wants to finish.”
Most of 6 wounded kids out of hospital
Six kids who had been wounded by gunfire had been taken to Arkansas Youngsters’s Hospital in Little Rock, in response to a spokesperson. Most had been launched as of Sunday afternoon.
Messages left at a hospital in Dumas and one other in close by McGehee weren’t instantly returned.
Wallace McGehee, the automobile present’s organizer, expressed condolences to the victims’ households and the neighborhood.
“For one thing like this to occur, it is a tragedy,” McGehee advised KATV. “We did this right here for 16 years with out a drawback.”
Chris Jones, a Democrat operating for Arkansas governor, tweeted he was on the occasion earlier Saturday, registering voters and having fun with “a optimistic household environment.”
“I’m deeply saddened (and truthfully angered) by this tragedy,” Jones mentioned in a press release.
Hutchinson mentioned that the person who was arrested was from Jacksonville, which is simply northeast of Little Rock.
