Suspected gunman who left three dead and 10 hurt at Arkansas supermarket is identified as 44-year-old man

According to the Arkansas State Police, the injuries of officer wounded in the supermarket shooting were “non-life-threatening.”

“At approximately 11:30 a.m. today, Arkansas State Police (ASP) responded to a shooting incident at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce. A total of nine individuals were shot,” a statement from the force read.

“Seven of the shooting victims were civilians, with two fatalities. One law enforcement officer was also shot and has non-life-threatening injuries.”

A retired police officer described a chaotic scene in Fordyce as rapid gunfire rang out through the area.

Ken Van Der Zwalm, who works round the corner from the Mad Butcher supermarket, said he saw people “running everywhere” including little children who were “traumatized” by the incident.

“I was outside and I heard what I thought somebody was throwing stuff in the dumpster,” he told The Independent.

“That’s kind of what it sounded like.”“I said, ‘well, that’s too much stuff going in the dumpster,’ so I got to listening, and it was actually rapid fire from a gun, because it was a deeper sound.

“I listened to it for a while, and then the news started coming out. People were running everywhere, and we had several people that ran to the store that were screaming and crying, and little children traumatized by what was going on.

“So we gave them refuge in the store, as a former police officer, I was armed. I told them that they were safe where were they were.

“We kept the children safe, and waited till their family or somebody come to pick them up.”

Ken Van Der Zwalm told The Independent that, even as a former police officer, he had “never experienced” gunfire like that during the Arkansas grocery store shooting.

“It’s gonna mark those kids that we took in. It’s gonna mark them for life because they were right there,” he said. “They were at the scene.

“It’s gonna affect them for the rest of their lives. They definitely need prayers.”

He added: “I’m a former police officer, and I’ve never experienced fire like that.”

Ken Van Der Zwalm described the chaotic Friday scene and said the youngsters caught up in the shooting would be “marked for life”

The former police officer spoke to The Independent just hours after the deadly attack in Fordyce, Arkansas, occurred.

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The suspect in the Arkansas supermarket shooting that left three people dead has been identified by authorities as 44-year-old Travis Posey.

Posey was booked into the Ouachita County Jail and charged with first degree murder, according to jail records.

Friday’s attack on an Arkansas supermarket comes shortly after the two-year anniversary of a similar incident in Buffalo, New York.

On May 14 the city marked anniversary of the racist mass shooting, in which 10 Black people were killed, with the dedication of a memorial space honoring the victims.

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Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders issued a statement saying she had been briefed on the “tragic shooting.”

“I’m in constant contact with State Police at the scene,” Huckabee said.

“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 horrific incident.”

Army veteran Ronald Clayton described the moment that he realized bullets were hitting his car as he pulled into the Mad Butcher grocery store on Friday.

Clayton told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that he and his wife were pulling into the parking lot of the grocery store when he though he heard something hitting his car’s windshield.

“I thought there was kids in them trees throwing rocks,” Clayton told the Gazette.

After realizing the sounds were from bullets, he pushed his wife to the floor of the vehicle and sped away from the scene. Clayton said he saw a person he thought was a deputy standing in front of the store with a rifle as he left the area.

“My wife ain’t doing too good, I’m just mad,” he said.

He counted 21 bullet strikes on the front passenger side of his car including one punctured his right tire. Marks where bullets cracked the windshield glass and skimmed off were visible, as were places where bullets failed to penetrate the metal body panel.

“I ain’t seen this since I was in the military,” Clayton said.