UPDATE: Police say man shot himself; driver arrested

UPDATE Thursday 10:50 a.m.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Police arrested a man they said was driving erratically on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard with a man who had been shot in his backseat.

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NWA Democrat-Gazette/SCARLET SIMS Traffic is diverted by police after a patrol officer pulled over a vehicle and found a person with a gunshot wound in the back seat of a car Wednesday afternoon at the intersection of Government Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard in Fayetteville.

Dedrick Earl Roberts, 21, of Lexa was arrested in connection with filing a false police report and endangering the welfare of a minor.

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Roberts told police someone shot the man, but a passenger told police the man shot himself, according to the preliminary arrest report.

Police found a man with a gunshot wound inside the vehicle after stopping it for speeding and driving erratically at 4 p.m. Wednesday. Roberts was driving, police said.

Officers applied tourniquets to both of the man's legs, according to the report. He was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center.

The man's name and condition were not released this morning.

Roberts told police a passenger in the backseat shot another backseat passenger, then fled the vehicle. Roberts told police he began driving fast through traffic to take the man to a hospital, according to the report.

Police said a youth who was a passenger told them the man shot himself with a Mossberg, 20-gauge shotgun in the backseat.

The name and age of the youth has not been released.

Roberts was at the Washington County Detention Center with no bond.

Wednesday 5:26 p.m.

FAYETTEVILLE -- Police stopped a driver on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on suspicion of speeding Wednesday afternoon and found a person with a gunshot wound in the back seat of the car, according to police.

A male was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center with serious injuries at 4 p.m., said Becky Stewart, Central EMS chief. Stewart said she couldn't confirm whether the person was older than 18.

Lt. Anthony Murphy said early Wednesday evening that no further information was available and the investigation was ongoing.

The car was stopped across from the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market near the intersection of Government Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard.

At least seven police vehicles blocked the street and routed traffic onto Government Avenue for about 45 minutes. Crime scene investigators and patrol officers were on scene.

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