Fordyce, Arkansas, suspect's motives unclear, police say

Lina Portman2 weeks ago

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Authorities in Arkansas said the motive behind Friday's shooting at a Fordyce grocery store, which killed four people and injured nine others, was still unclear two days later.

“It appears to be a completely random and senseless act,” Arkansas State Police Director Mike Hagar said at a news conference Sunday afternoon. The shooter, armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, a pistol and a bandolier of ammunition, did not appear to be targeting anyone in particular when he opened fire shortly before noon.

Police arrested Travis Eugene Posey, 44, of nearby New Edinburg, Friday evening. He was treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, Hagar said.

Hagar said the shooter first opened fire in the store's parking lot, then entered it and “began shooting indiscriminately into the store” before returning to the parking lot to exchange gunfire with police , arriving three minutes after the first 911 call. The suspect was injured during the exchange.

The inmate log at the Ouachita County Sheriff's Office, which borders Dallas County, showed Posey being held there. He will be charged with four counts of capital murder, the Arkansas Department of Public Safety announced Saturday in a news release. That would make him eligible for either the death penalty or life without parole if convicted.

Those killed in the shooting were Roy Sturgis, 50; Shirley Taylor, 62; Callie Weems, 23; and Ellen Shrum, 81. Shrum died Saturday evening.

Two police officers were among the injured, authorities said.

It is the 12th mass shooting in the United States this year, according to a database compiled by Northeastern University, the Associated Press and USA Today. The database defines a fatal mass shooting as a massacre “in which most or all of the victims are killed by gunfire.”

Fordyce is about 60 miles south of downtown Little Rock, with a population of about 3,700, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Weems was a nurse and mother of a 10-month-old girl, according to NBC News. Hagar said that instead of fleeing the store when the violence began, Weems stopped to help a gunshot victim, then was shot herself.

“It was one of the most selfless acts I have ever seen,” he said.

Taylor was devoted to her multigenerational family in Chambersville. She took care of her diabetic husband and her mother. She also helped care for her grandchildren, her daughter told NBC News.

An obituary for Sturgis, published Sunday, said he lived in Kingsland, about five miles northeast of Fordyce, and was survived by his daughter, stepson and other family members .

A couple attacked by the shooter – Thomas Brazil Sr., 65, and Sharon Brazil, 61 – had not even entered the store yet.

They were in the parking lot outside the store when the gunman started shooting at their car, their daughter Nancy Brazil told the Washington Post.

A bullet grazed Thomas Brazil's forehead. His wife was not physically injured.

“It’s a blessing that they’re OK,” Nancy Brazil said, adding that her parents’ car had been shot up more than 20 times.

Kelsey Baker and Amber Ferguson contributed to this report.

This is a developing story and will be updated.