Following a week that seemed riddled with mass shooting incidents, a gunman opened fire at a grocery shop in Arkansas on Friday, June 21, killing and wounding several people.
Knewz.com has learned that the incident happened at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, a small town about 70 miles south of Little Rock, Arkansas.
Current statistics have shown that a total of eleven people were injured in the incident, while three people have lost their lives.
Several of the survivors are currently in extremely critical condition, according to state police Director Mike Hagar.
Several police officers were also hurt in the incident, although their injuries have been deemed non-life-threatening, the state police Director said at a late-afternoon news conference, per NBC News.
The incident occurred at around 11:40 a.m. local time, and according to eyewitnesses cited by NBC, the shooting began in the parking lot.
"He shot at my mother’s car and hit the tire," said Amiya Doherty, who was at the grocery store with her sister Ashiya. She added in her statement to NBC that car windows all around them were shot, and she grabbed her sister and pulled her down to avoid being hit.
"It was like a movie," her sister weighed in.
Matt Gill, a meat cutter, was at the back of the store when the incident happened. He told the outlet, "He came in and started shooting... We made it out the back door. I had to get out there, I have a wife and kids at home."
Video footage of the incident that was shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, and verified by NBC, showed a man in the grocery store parking lot firing what an eyewitness said in the video was a shotgun.
The man briefly paused to reload and then opened fire in a different direction. At this point, a male voice in the video cried out that the man was trying to "shoot the police."
However, the situation was eventually contained, the police said. The perpetrator sustained non-life-threatening injuries in the skirmish with law enforcement and has been taken into custody, per NBC.
State Police Director Hagar said that it was yet to be determined what motivated the man to do such a thing.
"It's tragic... Our hearts are broken," he told the press.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders shared a statement about the incident on X, saying, "I have been briefed on the tragic shooting in Fordyce, and I’m in constant contact with State Police at the scene."
"I am thankful to law enforcement and first responders for their quick and heroic action to save lives. My prayers are with the victims and all those impacted by this horrific incident."
It is worth noting that the incident in Arkansas is the third mass shooting incident this week alone, following the incidents in Philadelphia and Oakland on June 19.
The Oakland shooting happened at a Juneteenth event near Lake Merritt where at least 15 people were shot, one person was assaulted and at least two officers were attacked, according to the police.
"This type of behavior and level of violence is unacceptable... The opportunity to celebrate with your family and friends should never be marred by gunfire," Oakland police Chief Floyd Mitchell said in a statement to NBC Bay Area on June 20.
On the other hand, the shooting in North Philadelphia left around seven individuals wounded, including a 16-year-old girl. "All of the victims are in stable condition except for the 19-year-old man who was shot in the back. He is currently in critical condition," NBC10 wrote, citing the police.
