Summary

Last Friday, a shooting outside Mad Butcher in Fordyce, Arkansas left four dead and nine injured, including two state police officers. Arkansas State Police engaged in a shootout with the 44-year-old suspect from New Edinburg, who was later taken into custody on multiple murder charges. Motives remain unclear, and details about weapons and connections to victims are pending. Governor Sarah Huckabee expressed condolences, while the incident adds to a troubling series of shootings at grocery stores nationwide.

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For those who read...

Good Monday morning Current2 listeners, this is Jake, and today we’ll be discussing the unfortunate mass shooting that struck a small town in Arkansas, just the facts, no opinions. 

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On Friday last week, a shooting outside of the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas killed four people and injured nine, including two state police officers among those injured. Arkansas State Police responded to the shooting slightly before noon on Friday, engaging in a shootout with the suspect. 

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Three deaths were reported on the scene, with a fourth confirmed to have died in a local hospital Saturday evening. The four victims have been confirmed by Arkansas State Police as Shirley Taylor, 62; Callie Williams, 23; Ellen Srum, 81; and Roy Sturgis, 50.

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Both police officers injured in the shooting have been released from medical care with minor injuries. In addition, five women and two men were injured in the shooting. As of Saturday night, four remain hospitalized, with one in critical condition, while the other three have been released.

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The suspect, a 44-year-old man from New Edinburg, Arkansas, about ten minutes away from Fordyce, was treated for injuries sustained in the shootout with police officers and then taken into custody on three counts of capital murder. This number increased to four when the fourth victim died on Saturday, and additional charges are pending. 

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Authorities have not yet released any possible motives for the shooting, which seems to have occurred within the grocery store and in the parking lot outside. It has not been confirmed if the shooter had any connection to the victims, if any weapons other than a gun were used, and whether or not the gun was obtained legally.

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Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee expressed her gratitude for all of the first responders on the scene, and sent her prayers to the victims and their families. Fordyce is a small, rural town of about 3,400 people about 70 miles south of Little Rock. The Mad Butcher is the town’s only grocery store.

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This incident is the latest in a disturbing pattern surrounding shootings at grocery stores. In 2021, a shooting outside of a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado killed 10 people. A little more than a year later, a white supremacist killed 10 Black people outside of a grocery store in Buffalo, New York.

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At the end of this more serious Deeper Dive, all of us at Current2 would like to extend our deepest sympathy to those impacted by Friday’s shooting, and the tens of thousands of Americans affected by gun violence each year. Thanks for listening to this Current2 Deeper Dive, and let’s have a great start to the week.

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Bulletin Brief

4 killed, 9 wounded in mass shooting outside Arkansas grocery store (CBS)

Grocery store shooting that killed 4 leaves an Arkansas town in disbelief (NYT)

A fourth victim has died a day after a shooting at an Arkansas grocery store (AP)