Arkansas grocery store mass shooting suspect pleads not guilty

Travis Posey, the Arkansas man charged with killing four people and injuring 10 others at a grocery store on June 21, pleaded not guilty to several felony charges on Tuesday in a likely effort to avoid the state's death penalty.

Posey is facing four counts of capital murder and 10 counts of attempted capital murder and would likely face the death penalty with a guilty plea. Arkansas is one of 27 states with the death penalty.

Posey's hearing was held from the Ouachita County Detention Center, where the 44-year-old man has been held since being treated for injuries sustained while police say he exchanged gunfire with them on Friday.

Judge Ryan Phillips said Tuesday’s first appearance by Posey was not an arraignment or a trial but instead, a hearing to discuss probable cause, the defendant’s rights, and bond.

The Fordyce Police Department said the day the mass shooting occurred was the worst day in the town's history. The shooter showed up at the Mad Butcher grocery store with a 12-gauge shotgun, a pistol, and a bandolier of shotgun rounds and started shooting "indiscriminately" at the establishment's inhabitants. Police have not established a motive.

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Fordyce Mayor John MacNichol told KATV that "Fordyce is a strong town...when something happens, the whole community pulls together to help with whatever we got going on. So, I feel confident that we're going to come back big and stronger than what we were."

If Posey doesn't receive the death penalty, he will likely be sentenced to life in prison.