PINE BLUFF -- The Police Department is in the early stages of investigating a shooting that left one man dead and two more wounded early Thursday. At abut 4:30 a.m., officers were dispatched to the 1400 block of West 23rd Avenue in reference to paramedics being shot.
Once officers were on the scene, they found the two paramedics, Joshua Godfrey and John Spriggs Sr., had been shot.
According to the police incident report, the officers arrived to find Godfrey, 35, sitting in the back of the ambulance bleeding while Spriggs, 41, was on the ground beside the ambulance.
The incident report states the paramedics were rendering aid to a 20-year-old woman while she was in the ambulance when her boyfriend, identified as 22-year-old Kevin Curl Jr., became hostile toward the men.
According to the girlfriend, she and Curl had gotten into an argument, and Curl had slammed her to the ground, injuring her knee. The girlfriend said she and Curl slept in a car most of the night after the altercation happened. When she attempted to call for a ride, she told police Curl prevented her by turning off the Wi-Fi. She then called 911 for an ambulance because her knee was in pain.
According to Josh Bishop, CEO of Emergency Ambulance Service , the fact there was domestic violence going on at the house wasn't told to paramedics during the 911 call. For that reason, no law enforcement officers went to the scene. "It was not called in as anything remotely close to domestic," he said. "The way it works, if it is a domestic or anything that has the potential to be violent or unsafe, for any reason, the police are dispatched first."
While the girlfriend was being treated by the paramedics, Curl approached them aggressively, according to the incident report. When Curl was told to back up by Spriggs, the report states Curl walked up to the paramedic, pushed him and asked him what he was going to do about it.
In defense, Spriggs punched Curl, and according to the incident report, that's when Curl pulled out a gun and shot both paramedics three times each in the chest, pelvic and abdomen areas. Spriggs then returned fire, striking Curl, according to the report.
The two paramedics were operated on at Jefferson Regional Medical Center and were in stable condition Thursday afternoon, according to Bishop.
"Right at two minutes of them getting on the scene to calling in with shots fired, they had been hit," said Bishop. "That's how quick it happened."
According to Kevin Curl Sr., Curl's father, Curl ran into the house screaming "Dad!" Curl then crawled across the floor and lay on the kitchen floor, stating he had been shot. By the time the police arrived, Curl was dead, according to the report.
Coroner Eric Belcher arrived on the scene and pronounced Curl dead at 5:35 a.m. Thursday.
Detectives say they are still investigating the incident.