June 21 (UPI) — An active shooter incident Friday at an Arkansas grocery store left three people dead and eight others wounded, according to state police.
The incident happened at 11:30 a.m. CDT at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, according to a statement from Arkansas State Police.
Meat cutter Matthew Gill told NBC News he was in the back of the store when he heard gunfire and shattering glass.
“He came in and started shooting,” Gill said. “We made it out the back door. I had to get out there, I have a wife and kids at home.”
Witness David Rodriguez told CNN that he was pulling into a nearby gas station when he heard “pops,” which he thought were fireworks until he saw people running away from the scene.
Police arrived on the scene and engaged in a shootout with the suspect.
At a Friday afternoon press briefing, authorities said 11 civilians were shot and three of them were killed.
The suspect also was critically injured and taken into custody, according to police. One officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Arkansas Gov. Sara Huckabee Sanders said in a post on X that she was briefed on the “tragic shooting” and thanked law enforcement and first responders “for their quick and heroic action to save lives.”
Officers had cordoned off the entire block where the incident occurred from South Edgar to North Russell streets.
Bullet holes could be seen on the glass of the Post Office across the street, and shell casings littered the road.
The shooting appeared to begin in the store parking lot, sisters Amiya and Ashiya Doherty told NBC News.
The two were in the back of their family’s SUV when a bullet hit a tire, Amiya Doherty said.
“It was like a movie,” Ashiya Doherty said.
Fordyce is a city with a population of just under 3,400 in 2020.
