SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – A 44-year-old man has been arrested and charged after allegedly carrying out a mass shooting in a small Arkansas town just days after another unrelated, non-fatal mass shooting at a Juneteenth event in Oakland, Calif.
According to the Gun Violence Archive , there were 236 mass shootings in the U.S. this year as of Saturday, including 11 mass murders. It defines as mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter, and a mass murder as an incident where four or more people are shot and killed.
In Oakland, CBS News reported that 15 people were injured during the mass shooting at an even for Juneteenth, a holiday celebrating the end of slavery in the U.S.
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This shooting occurred at 8:45 p.m. Wednesday, said the Oakland Police Department in a Thursday press release .
“The preliminary investigation revealed that 28 officers and four sergeants monitored crowds of roughly 5,000 people participating in events at and around Lake Merritt,” the release explained. “The crowds were peaceful until around 8:15 p.m., when an illegal sideshow involving vehicles and motorbikes occurred near Grand Avenue and Bellevue Avenue.”
Shortly after this sideshow began, a fight broke out and the crowd headed towards it. Then, multiple shots were fired.
“Officers located several victims who were struck by the gunfire,” said police.
Several victims were transported to local hospitals by medical personnel and even more were taken to hospital via private transportation. As of Thursday, there were no reported fatalities due to the incident and no arrests had been made in connection with the shooting.
“It is currently unknown if there was a single shooter or multiple shooters involved,” said the OPD.
While officers attempted to guide the crowd into a safe area, some individuals punched and pushed them, resulting in minor injuries. One person was taken into custody for assaulting an officer, per police.
“This is an ongoing investigation,” said the department, which also put extra enforcement out for an event Saturday. “Anyone with information is asked to contact the OPD Felony Assault Unit at (510) 238-3426. If you have any videos or photos that could assist with the investigation, please send them to cidvideos@oaklandca.gov .”
While Oakland has a population of more than 440,000, Fordyce , Ark., is much smaller, with a population under 4,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
It was there, at the Mad Butcher grocery store, that gunman Travis Eugene Posey of New Edinburg, Ark., opened fire Friday, fatally shooting three people and injuring 11. Information from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration indicates that a Travis Posey of New Edinburgh is associated with Tavis Posey Trucking.
“Posey will be charged with three counts of Capital Murder,” said the Arkansas Department of Public Safety in a statement . “Additional charges are pending. He was treated for non-life-threatening injuries after exchanging gunfire with law enforcement, released to ASP custody, and transported to the Ouachita County Detention Center.”
Two of Posey’s alleged victims were law enforcement officers. They did not sustain life-threatening injuries, but some of the other survivors were in extremely critical condition.
In an X post , the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives New Orleans said that: “Special Agents are on-scene and providing assistance in response to a mass shooting at a grocery store in south Arkansas. Follow our partner Fordyce Police Department for updates.”
CNN reported that families were shopping at the store when they started hearing gunfire. Some of them hid in a freezer as the shots continued, including Katrina Doherty. She had been shopping for dinner with her 18-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son.
“Not finding an escape route, Doherty and others in the store hurriedly hid in a freezer,” said the report. “Doherty’s daughter and son, who were in a different aisle, reunited with their mother in the back of the store and followed two store workers into the freezer. The 39-year-old mother said she heard about nine or ten rounds before making it into the icy shelter.”
Doherty said they were in the freezer for about 15 minutes and that her son struggled to stay warm. When one of the workers opened the door, they saw someone dead right in front of it, CNN said.
“Once she was out of the store, Doherty reunited with her 15-year-old twin daughters who were waiting outside in the car during the shooting and ducked down when they heard the gunshots,” it continued.
Roderick Rogers, a Fordyce native and pastor at Grace United Church, remembered seeing “people just lying in the parking lot,” according to NBC News .
“There were shots going on everywhere,” he said.
NBC also reported that a 23-year-old nurse Callie Weems, mother to a 10-month-old girl, is among those killed in the shooting.
Her mother, Helen Browning, said that after she heard about the shooting she checked her daughter’s location and it showed that Weems was at Dallas County Medical Center. She thought her daughter was just at work before she heard the tragic news.
NBC said that there is not yet a clear motive for the mass shooting.
“Law enforcement officials briefed on the shooting told NBC News on Saturday that there are no indications of any sort of extremism as a possible motive,” it added. Video that was verified by the outlet that does “not reveal what transpired beforehand shows a man in a parking lot firing a long gun,” including some rounds shot at vehicles.
Both the grocery store and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued statements about the shootings.
“I have been briefed on the tragic shooting in Fordyce, and I’m in constant contact with State Police at the scene,” said Sanders in an X post . “I am thankful to law enforcement and first responders for their quick and heroic action to save lives. My prayers are with the victims and all those impacted by this horrific incident.”
“We are shocked and deeply saddened over the senseless act of violence that occurred yesterday at our Fordyce store, resulting in three deaths and injuries to several other individuals,” said the store in a Facebook post . It also said the store will remain closed as the investigation continues, though employees will still be paid.
“ASP is asking for anyone with information to please call (870) 850-8630,” said Arkansas state police.
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