Crime scene tape is on the ground, Sunday, March 20, 2022 at the scene where a shooting that injured more than 20 and killed one occurred Saturday night in Dumas, Ark.
Highlight
- One person killed and 27 injured in an encounter between two people during a car show
- The incident occurred during an annual community event in southeastern Arkansas City on March 20
- A man has been arrested on unrelated charges and is being questioned about the shooting in Dumaso
One person has been killed and 27 injured in an encounter between two people during a car show as part of an annual community event in Southeast Arkansas City. Officials gave this information on Sunday.
A man who left the scene of Saturday evening’s shooting has been arrested on unrelated charges and reported about the shooting in Dumas, a town of about 4,000 located about 90 miles (144 kilometers) southeast of Little Rock, Arkansas State Police Col. I am being questioned. Bill Bryant said.
“All we know at this time is that two individuals were involved in the encounter,” Bryant told a news conference on Sunday afternoon.
He said several children were also among the injured, including two children under the age of two.
The car show is part of a community event held each spring called Hood-Nick, which is short for Neighborhood Picnic. The Hood-Nick Foundation states on its website that its mission is to “rebuild, reintegrate and respond to the needs of youth in our communities.”
The program, which helps raise money for scholarships and school supplies, also includes a bonfire, a basketball tournament, musical performances, a teen party, and a balloon release.
“Hood-Nick’s purpose has always been to bring the community together,” the foundation said on its Facebook page. “This senseless violence needs to end.”
“It has always been a family-friendly event with a message of nonviolence,” said Chris Love-Key, the foundation’s chief development officer.
Bryant said 23-year-old Cameron Shaffer of Jacksonville, Arkansas, was killed in the gunfire. He said officials had no indication that he was involved in the shooting.
Earlier in the day, Governor Asa Hutchinson said on Twitter that one of the two suspects had been arrested and was being held on unrelated charges. But the state police would later say only that the arrested person is being interrogated.
“As the investigation continues, I will examine the details to see if any steps could have been taken to prevent this type of tragedy,” Hutchinson said.
According to a spokesman, six people under the age of 18 who were wounded by gunfire were taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. Most were issued by Sunday afternoon.
Car show organizer Wallace McGee told Kark that when the bullets started flying, he “started running, ducking, getting down, trying to get the kids out of the way.”
Candace McKinsey, who helped organize the event, told The New York Times that the bullets seemed to have come out of nowhere.
“You went from laughing and talking and eating and random firing to everything,” she said.
McKinsey said people started running and tripping over each other and older people were falling.
Those shot included McKinsey’s cousin and sister. He said that both are expected to recover.
Democrat Chris Jones, running for governor of Arkansas, tweeted that he was at the event earlier on Saturday, registering voters and enjoying “a positive family atmosphere.”
“I am deeply saddened (and honestly outraged) by this tragedy,” Jones said in a statement.
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