Police say two people were hurt in a shooting at an Arkansas mall on Black Friday, which is one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
In a news release, Little Rock police said that the shooting at Park Plaza at 1:44 p.m. local time was not an active shooter situation but rather a single event. Police said they thought it began with “a disturbance between two individuals that escalated into gunfire.”
The cops say that both victims should fully recover. At first, no arrests were reported.
At first, Little Rock Police Chief Heath Helton said at a news conference in the afternoon that first responders found one hurt person at the scene and later found two more at a hospital. Later, though, police said it was clear that only one victim, not two, had been taken to a nearby hospital by private car.
The full details of what happened during the shooting were not clear. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that Troy Daniell, manager of Journey’s Kidz shoe store, was working when he heard the gunshots and “got all of the customers that were in my store out of there.” I got them all out of the store and in the back. When I heard the first shot, I thought something might have fallen, but after hearing a few more, I knew what was going on right away.
Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. said in a statement that “the careless, stupid, and illegal actions of two individuals today put the lives and safety of residents and visitors at risk.” We are praying for the people who were hurt in this accident and hope they get better soon.
