A man who was shot in an exchange of gunfire with police outside a west Little Rock fast-food restaurant Sunday afternoon died, authorities said.
Little Rock Police Chief Keith Humphrey, speaking at the scene of the shooting, said officers were called to investigate a report of a suspicious person in the area of Shackleford Crossings shopping center near South Shackleford Road and Interstate 430. Dispatch records show the first call came in about 2:45 p.m.
The identities of the officers involved in the shooting and the man who was fatally shot hadn't been released as of Sunday afternoon.
Humphrey said officers encountered a white man outside an Arby's in the shopping center, near a Walmart Supercenter, and shots were fired.
"The subject fired at the officers and at some point our officers fired back, striking the suspect," Humphrey said.
Two officers were involved in the shooting and the man was critically injured, police spokesman Lt. Michael Ford said in a news conference. Ford said the man was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
"Both officers fired and the suspect did fire shots at them," Ford said. "We do have both of them going back and forth shooting at each other."
No other injuries were reported.
Dwalisa Wheeler said she was leaving a family event at Copeland's of New Orleans restaurant when she heard the gunshots.
"I heard a lot more than two gunshots," Wheeler said two hours after the shooting. "When I heard the shots I took my a** back into Copeland's. Once everything settled down, I came back outside to see what was going on and I have been here ever since. I am about to head back to my side of town soon, though."
Phyllis Thomas said she went to the scene because she was redirected off the main road.
"I was going to see my sister-in-law when I noticed the cops blocking [South Shackleford Road]," Thomas said. "I had to do a U-turn in the shopping complex and noticed the crime tape around the Arby's and decided to see what was going on."
Thomas said she worked for Arby's for 27 years, but didn't know anybody inside the building .
"You don't hear about crime happening here very often because that Walmart has cameras everywhere," Thomas said. "I know that Walmart is going to have some footage."
Ford said the department is running a dual investigation using homicide detectives and internal affairs investigators.
Witnesses are being interviewed to gain information on the specifics of the suspicious-person call, Ford said. Who fired first is also being investigated, he said.
Investigators did not release the suspected gunman's name, but they described him as a white male, police spokesman Ford said at a news conference.
"Unfortunately there was a white male who was shot by two of our officers, who were white males," Ford said. "We did see some comments on our social media that the individual who was killed today was a black male and we wanted to make sure ... because that tends to catch on through social media and we wanted to make sure that we are trying to be transparent.
"But we have to notify the family of the victim and let the officers notify their families that they are OK. It's is a process we have to go through, but we didn't want any rumors out there when we can say, hey, this is what it's right now and this is what we have."
The shooting comes two days after the Little Rock Police Department announced that officer Charles Starks will not face charges in the fatal Feb. 22 shooting of Little Rock resident Bradley Blackshire, per a decision by the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney's office. Starks is white and Blackshire was black.
The statement also said that the internal investigation into Starks' conduct during the shooting has been completed and is under review by the police chief.
Starks confronted 30-year-old Blackshire, who was driving a car that had been reported stolen, near West 12th Street and South Rodney Parham Road. Starks, who was grazed by the car as it moved forward after he had confronted Blackshire, fired his weapon at least 15 times, killing Blackshire. Between bursts of gunfire, Starks also moved in front of the vehicle, which hit him.
Thirteen days after the shooting, the Little Rock Police Department released video footage from the shooting and turned the investigative file over to the Pulaski County prosecuting attorney's office.
The decision not to press charges came 56 days after the shooting.
A protester at the shooting scene on Sunday afternoon yelled and recorded officers for several minutes before leaving the area.
Thomas said an Easter shooting doesn't surprise her.
"Anything is possible on any given day," Thomas said. "If someone decides they are going to do something then there isn't a special day off, no matter the season or the holiday."
State Desk on 04/22/2019