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    Sunday, May 26, 2024

    Gunfire at Arkansas car show leaves 1 dead, 27 wounded

    Crime scene tape lies on the ground, Sunday, March 20, 2022 at the scene where a shooting that left over 20 injured and one dead occurred Saturday night in Dumas, Ark. (Staci Vandagriff/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

    DUMAS, Ark. — One man was killed and 27 people were wounded when two people got into a gunfight during a car show that's part of an annual community event in a small southeast Arkansas town, authorities said Sunday.

    A person who left the scene of the Saturday evening shooting has been arrested on unrelated charges and is being questioned about the shooting in Dumas, a city of about 4,000 located about 90 miles southeast of Little Rock, Arkansas State Police Col. Bill Bryant said.

    “All we know at this time, there was two individuals that got in a gunfight,” Bryant said at a Sunday afternoon news conference.

    He said several children were among the wounded, including two under the age of 2.

    The car show is part of a community event held each spring called Hood-Nic, which is short for neighborhood picnic. The Hood-Nic Foundation says on its website that its mission is to “rebuild, reunite, and respond to the needs of the youth in our communities.”

    The event, which helps raise funds for scholarships and school supplies, also included a bonfire, a basketball tournament, musical performances, a teen party and a balloon release.

    “The purpose of Hood-Nic has always been to bring the community together,” the foundation said on its Facebook page. “This senseless violence needs to end.”

    “It’s always been a family-friendly event with a message of non-violence,” said Kris Love-Keys, the foundation's chief development officer.

    Cameron Shaffer, 23, of Jacksonville, Arkansas, was killed in the gunfire, Bryant said. He said authorities have no indication that he was involved in the gunfight.

    Earlier in the day, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said on Twitter that one of the two suspects had been arrested and was being held on unrelated charges. But state police later would only say the person who was arrested was being questioned.

    “As the investigation continues I will examine details to see if there are any steps that could have been taken to prevent this type of tragedy,” Hutchinson said.

    Six people under the age of 18 who were wounded by gunfire were taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, according to a spokeswoman. Most had been released as of Sunday afternoon.

    Wallace McGehee, the car show's organizer, told KARK that that when the bullets started flying, he began “running, ducking, getting down, trying to get kids out of the way.”

    Candace McKinzie, who helped organize the event, told The New York Times that the gunfire seemed to come out of nowhere.

    “You went from laughing and talking and eating and everything to random firing,” she said.

    McKinzie said people started running and tripping over one another and older people were falling.

    Those who were shot include McKinzie’s cousin and sister. She said both were expected to recover.

    Chris Jones, a Democrat running for Arkansas governor, tweeted that he was at the event earlier Saturday, registering voters and enjoying “a positive family atmosphere.”

    “I am deeply saddened (and honestly angered) by this tragedy,” Jones said in a statement.

    Arkansas State Police Director Col. Bill Bryant, right, answers questions from the media Sunday, March 20, 2022 during a news conference at the Southeast Arkansas Law Enforcement Center in Dumas, Ark. (Staci Vandagriff/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)
    Bill Sadler, public information officer for the Arkansas State Police, leads law enforcement officials down a hallway before a news conference Sunday, March 20, 2022 at the Southeast Arkansas Law Enforcement Center in Dumas, Ark. (Staci Vandagriff/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)
    Bill Sadler, public information officer for the Arkansas State Police, leads a news conference Sunday, March 20, 2022 at the Southeast Arkansas Law Enforcement Center before turning it over to Arkansas State Police Director Col. Bill Bryant, left. in Dumas, Ark. (Staci Vandagriff/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

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