1 wounded in shooting outside Arkansas Health Department

FILE — Little Rock police investigate a Jan. 23, 2017, shooting in a parking lot outside a state Health Department building at 4815 W. Markham St.
FILE — Little Rock police investigate a Jan. 23, 2017, shooting in a parking lot outside a state Health Department building at 4815 W. Markham St.

A 33-year-old man was shot shortly before noon Monday in the parking lot of the Arkansas Department of Health's main office building in Little Rock, police say.

The Little Rock Police Department responded to the shooting at 11:58 a.m. outside the building at 4815 W. Markham St.

On the parking lot's southwest side, responding officers spoke with the victim, Caleb McClain, who said he was unsure of what happened.

A witness turned around after hearing the first shot and saw someone wielding what appeared to be a large pistol and pointing it out the driver's side of a gray car, he told authorities.

The shooter, who had long dreadlocks, appeared to be aiming at a group of black women walking across the parking lot, the witness added.

The lot was full of parked cars at the time of the shooting.

Police said the group ran away after shots were fired and fled the parking lot in what was believed to be a tan SUV.

McClain was shot in the upper left shoulder and taken to a local hospital for injuries not considered life-threatening, according to authorities.

At this time, the state Department of Health does not think the shooter or the victim were agency employees, spokesman Meg Mirivel said. She was not aware of any other recent shootings that had taken place near the buildings.

There is not a lot of foot traffic from the general public in the area, Mirivel said, and most of the people who walk across the parking lot are medical school students.

A woman was taken to the 12th Street substation for questioning in the shooting after her vehicle was located and linked to the shooting, police said. Her name did not appear in jail records as of Monday afternoon.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

Upcoming Events