Suspect shot at Air Force base identified, still critical

A Ford Expedition that had been driven by a man shot at the main gate of Little Rock Air Force Base is seen early Monday afternoon.
A Ford Expedition that had been driven by a man shot at the main gate of Little Rock Air Force Base is seen early Monday afternoon.

The armed man who was shot at the main gate of the Little Rock Air Force Base when he tried to access the facility Monday has been identified as Larry McElroy.

The FBI confirmed McElroy's name in a statement Tuesday and also said searches of his vehicle and home failed to turn up any explosives.

"There was no apparent motive nor any ties to terrorism," the statement said.

McElroy was taken to UAMS Medical Center after being shot around 9:15 a.m. in an exchange that prompted the base in Jacksonville to lock down for more than three hours and to shut its main Vandenberg Boulevard gate for most of the day.

He remains in critical condition Tuesday, the FBI said.

The base commander, Col. Charles "Chip" Brown, said Monday that McElroy's motive and intentions were unknown, but that two officers at the gate engaged him when his Ford Expedition ran up on a curb and he got out with a rifle in his hands.

Officials did not confirm McElroy's identity on Monday, though authorities searched a home north of the base on Maddox Road that was listed in court and property records under the 43-year-old McElroy's name, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

See Wednesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full coverage.

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