Suspect arrested; 1 dead, 26 wounded

Police have arrested a suspect in connection to a taking pictures at a southeast Arkansas automotive present that left one particular person useless and 26 wounded.

Arkansas State Police arrested Brandon Deandra Knight, 22, of Jacksonville, after he was launched from the hospital Wednesday morning, in response to a Wednesday assertion. Knight was charged with battery and aggravated assault and is being held on the Dumas Metropolis Jail forward of a Thursday courtroom look.

Police didn’t elaborate Wednesday on Knight’s involvement within the taking pictures.

Police recognized Cameron Shaffer, 23, of Jacksonville, Arkansas, because the deadly sufferer within the taking pictures, which happened Saturday at an occasion meant to advertise nonviolence in Dumas, a city of lower than 5,000 folks about 90 miles south of Little Rock.

Officers initially stated 28 folks had been wounded within the taking pictures, however the Arkansas State Police launched an announcement Monday saying one particular person was killed and 26 had been wounded by gunfire. 

Among the many wounded had been 5 kids beneath the age of 11, together with two toddlers, who had been taken to the hospital, in response to the assertion.

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Arkansas State Police spokesman Invoice Sadler stated state troopers responded to experiences of a taking pictures round 7:25 p.m. Saturday. Dumas Police Chief Keith Finch stated the automotive present was in full swing when “a number of gunmen started taking pictures.”

Investigators imagine the taking pictures started as a gunfight between two folks, Arkansas State Police Col. Invoice Bryant stated Sunday.

“You do not anticipate that from small-town Arkansas,” he stated Sunday.

The annual occasion, referred to as the sixteenth annual Hood-Nic Automotive Present, included a parade, bike present and different actions to lift funds for scholarships and faculty provides, in response to the group’s web site. Wallace McGehee, the automotive present organizer, stated the occasion promotes nonviolence.

“This has by no means occurred with us at our occasion ever,” McGehee stated. “For one thing like this to occur, it is a tragedy.”

Contributing: John Bacon and Celina Tebor, USA TODAY

Contact Information Now Reporter Christine Fernando at cfernando@usatoday.com or observe her on Twitter at @christinetfern.