Arkansas supermarket shooting leaves three dead and 10 wounded as gunman arrested
A supermarket shooting in Arkansas, US, has left three people dead and 10 others wounded.
Parked cars and shop windows were left riddled with bullet holes after a gunman opened fire on Friday, forcing bystanders to dive for cover.
Among the injured were two police officers who shot back at the gunman – before he was arrested.
The incident took place around 11.30am local time at the Mad Butcher supermarket in Fordyce – a city of just over 3,000 people located 65 miles south of Little Rock.
Colonel Mike Hagar, director of Arkansas State Police, told reporters: “It’s tragic, our hearts are broken”.
The gunman was identified by police as 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey.
Posey was taken to jail and charged with three counts of murder.
Other charges are still pending and no court date has been set, according to the inmate roster.
Police on the scene of the attack in the aftermath of the shooting. Pic: AP
Neither Posey’s, nor the officers’ injuries were life threatening, but among the others the injuries ranged from “not life-threatening to extremely critical”, Col Hagar said.
It wasn’t immediately clear what the motive for the shooting was, nor if it took place predominantly inside or outside the shop.
Roderick Rogers, a member of the city council, witnessed the attack.
He said he saw people fleeing for cover in all directions and added: “People were just jumping into cars to get to safety.”
Law enforcement officers work the scene of the shooting. Pic: AP
Amiya Doherty said she was in her mum’s car in the car park of the shop when she heard what she thought were fireworks.
But she then saw a man holding a gun and firing and said she ducked out of view.
“I held my sister’s hand and I told her I love her,” Ms Doherty told Little Rock television station KATV.
Images from the scene showed a slew of bullet holes in the grocery store’s window, and spent shell casings strewn throughout the parking lot.
The shooting took place at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas. Pic: AP
Arkansas governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she had been briefed on the shooting.
In a post on social media she added: “I am thankful to law enforcement and first responders for their quick and heroic action to save lives.
“My prayers are with the victims and all those impacted by this.”
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The White House said President Joe Biden has been briefed on the shooting and his team will continue to keep him updated.
David Rodriguez, 58, had stopped at his local petrol station in the town when he heard what he thought were fireworks.
But he too saw people fleeing from the shop and one person lying on the ground.
“The police started to show up, and then there was massive gunfire and ambulances pulling up,” he said.
“The bullets were just flying.”
DHL Express is suspending some shipments to the US as Donald Trump’s new tariff regime takes effect.
From 21 April, shipments worth more than $800 (£603) to US consumers from “any origin” will be temporarily suspended.
New rules that came into effect at the start of April made such shipments subject to increased customs checks.
“This change has caused a surge in formal customs clearances, which we are handling around the clock,” said the parcel delivery service.
Shipments going from business to business worth more than $800 aren’t affected by the suspension, but DHL warned they may also face delays.
Shipments under $800 to either businesses or consumers are not impacted, but one British cycle manufacturer suggested its US customers may need to split orders over $800 into “smaller shipments” to avoid the red tape.
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From May, shipments from China and Hong Kong that are worth less than $800 “will be subject to all applicable duties”, according to the White House.
“President Trump is targeting deceptive shipping practices by Chinese-based shippers, many of whom hide illicit substances, including synthetic opioids, in low-value packages,” it said in a statement.
Until now, deliveries worth less than $800 didn’t incur any duties, which allowed low-cost companies Chinese like Shein and Temu to make inroads in the US.
Both have warned their prices will now rise because of the rule changes, starting on 25 April.
Anti-Trump protests took place across America on Saturday, with demonstrators decrying the administration’s immigration crackdown and mass firings at government agencies.
Events ranged from small local marches to a rally in front of the White House and a demonstration at a Massachusetts commemoration of the start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago.
Thomas Bassford, 80, was at the battle reenactment with his two grandsons, as well as his partner and daughter.
He said: “This is a very perilous time in America for liberty. I wanted the boys to learn about the origins of this country and that sometimes we have to fight for freedom.”
At events across the country, people carried banners with slogans including “Trump fascist regime must go now!”, “No fear, no hate, no ICE in our state,” and “Fight fiercely, Harvard, fight,” referencing the university’s recent refusal to hand over much of its control to the government.
Some signs name-checked Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadorian citizen living in Maryland, who the Justice Department admits was mistakenly deported to his home country.
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Pic: AP
People waved US flags, some of them held upside down to signal distress. In San Francisco, hundreds of people spelt out “Impeach & Remove” on a beach, also with an inverted US flag.
People walked through downtown Anchorage in Alaska with handmade signs listing reasons why they were demonstrating, including one that read: “No sign is BIG enough to list ALL of the reasons I’m here!”
Pic: AP
Protests also took place outside Tesla car dealerships against the role Elon Musk ahas played in downsizing the federal government as de facto head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
The protests come just two weeks after similar nationwide demonstrations.
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Organisers are opposing what they call Mr Trump’s civil rights violations and constitutional violations, including efforts to deport scores of immigrants and to scale back the federal government by firing thousands of government workers and effectively shuttering entire agencies.
The Trump administration, among other things, has moved to shutter Social Security Administration field offices, cut funding for government health programs and scale back protections for transgender people.
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