A person was killed and at least 24 people were injured in a shooting at a car show in Dumas, Arkansas, on Saturday night, police said.
Police have not said what led to Saturday night’s shooting in Dumas, but Gov. Asa Hutchinson said on Twitter that there were two suspects, one of whom had been arrested and was being held on unrelated charges.
At least six children were among those wounded. The children who were wounded by gunfire were taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock, according to a spokeswoman. Most had been released as of Sunday afternoon.
“As the investigation continues I will examine details to see if there are any steps that could have been taken to prevent this type of tragedy,” Hutchinson said.
Troopers, highway patrol officers and investigators were dispatched about 7:25 p.m. to a business where the car show was taking place, police said in an earlier statement.
The event’s organizers, a nonprofit group called the Hoodnic Foundation, said it was “heartbroken and in shock at what took place during tonight’s car show,” in statement posted to its Facebook page.
The group’s director, Wallace McGehee, told NBC affiliate KARK of Little Rock that he witnessed the shooting break out and tried to get children out of harm’s way.
“Getting down, trying to get kids out the way, that was the main issue for all of us,” he said.
McGehee said the group encourages nonviolence. It’s listed on transparency websites as an educational nonprofit.
This was the 16th year for the car show in Dumas, McGehee said. The other years, he said, were problem-free. Fliers advertised it as the “NeighborHOOD PicNIC.”
“Send ya’ll prayers, send y’all condolences,” McGehee said.
Chris Jones, a Democrat running for Arkansas governor, tweeted that was at the event earlier Saturday, registering voters and enjoying “a positive family atmosphere.”
“I am deeply saddened (and honestly angered) by this tragedy,” Jones said in a statement.
