Shooting at grocery store in Arkansas kills 3 and wounds 10 others, police say

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A shooter who opened fire Friday at a grocery store in Arkansas left the store and parked cars riddled with bullet holes as bystanders ducked for cover both indoors and in the parking lot, killing 3 people and wounding 10 others, authorities said.

The wounded included two law enforcement officers who exchanged fire with and shot the suspect, state police said. The shooting occurred about 11:30 a.m. at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, a city of about 3,200 people located 65 miles (104 kilometers) south of Little Rock.

“It’s tragic, our hearts are broken,” Col. Mike Hagar, director of the Arkansas State Police and public safety secretary, told reporters Friday.

Police identified the suspected shooter as 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey of New Edinburg. He was taken to jail and charged with three counts of capital murder, while other charges are still pending. No court date had been set, according to the inmate roster.

A state police spokesperson did not know if Posey had an attorney, and the Ouachita County Sheriff’s Office said it had no information.

Neither the officers' nor Posey's injuries were life threatening. The remaining injuries ranged from “not life-threatening to extremely critical,” Hagar said.

It’s the latest mass shooting where a grocery store is its backdrop. A white supremacist in 2022 killed 10 Black people at a Buffalo supermarket. That shooting came a little more than a year after one at a Boulder, Colorado, supermarket, where 10 people were killed.

Police did not immediately say whether the shooting occurred inside or outside the store. Police did not identify the victims and have not released a motive for the shooting.

Roderick Rogers, a member of the city council, said he called the county sheriff when employees at his restaurant nearby notified him of the shooting.

Rogers said when he got there, he saw people running for cover in every direction, even one running to the hospital nearby.

“People were just jumping into cars to get to safety,” Rogers said.

Video posted on social media showed at least one person lying in the parking lot, while another captured multiple gunshots ringing out.

Amiya Doherty said she was in her mother’s car in the grocery store’s parking lot when she heard what she was thought was fireworks. When she saw a man holding a gun and firing, she said she ducked out of view.

“I held my sister’s hand and I told her I love her,” Doherty told Little Rock television station KATV.

Images from reporters on the scene showed a slew of bullet holes in the grocery store's window, and spent shell casings strewn throughout the parking lot. In video footage, local and state agencies could be seen responding to the scene, with at least one medical helicopter landing nearby.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she had been briefed on the shooting.

“I am thankful to law enforcement and first responders for their quick and heroic action to save lives,” Sanders posted on the social media platform X. “My prayers are with the victims and all those impacted by this.”

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 gas station in Fordyce to fill up his car when he heard what he thought were fireworks from a nearby vendor’s stand.

“We heard a few little pops,” he said.

He then saw people running from the Mad Butcher grocery store into the parking lot, and one person lying on the ground. He began recording video with his phone before the gunfire escalated.

“The police started to show up, and then there was massive gunfire and ambulances pulling up,” he said. “The bullets were just flying.”

Associated Press reporters Beatrice Dupuy in New York and Seung Min Kim in Washington contributed to this report

Law enforcement officers work the scene of a shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Ark., Friday, June 21, 2024. (Colin Murphey/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

Law enforcement officers work the scene of a shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Ark., Friday, June 21, 2024. (Colin Murphey/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

Police vehicles remain on the scene of a shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store, Friday, June 21, 2024, Frodyce, Ark. (Ainsley Platt/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

Damage can be seen to a front window law enforcement officers work the scene of a shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Ark., Friday, June 21, 2024. (Colin Murphey/Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP)

Police respond to the scene of a shooting on Friday, June 21, 2024 in Fordyce, Ark. Arkansas State Police say at least two people were killed and eight wounded in a shooting that occurred at a grocery store in south Arkansas. (KATV via AP)

HONG KONG (AP) — The sole candidate in the election for Macao’s next leader on Saturday pledged to diversify the economy of the Chinese casino city, a goal previously laid out by Beijing.

Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, said at a news conference that the diversification is a key issue he must address. At a separate event, he told election committee members who will vote on Oct. 13 that the city has learned a lesson from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Macao's tourism and gaming industries suffered a big slump because of the virus controls before China rolled back its “zero-COVID” strategy in late 2022.

Sam said just relying on the gaming industry is not enough. “Otherwise, how could we handle it if big disasters arise?” he said.

Sam, 62, is widely expected to secure the leadership in next month's vote, during which a 400-member committee — mostly dominated by establishment figures — picks the leader. Most of the semi-autonomous territory’s population of 687,000 does not have a right to vote. He would be the city’s first leader from mainland China.

During the application period, he already received nominations from 386 committee members. The city’s safeguarding national security committee affirmed his loyalty to China and Macao.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has expressed hopes that the former Portuguese colony can promote healthy and sustainable economic development and diversify its economy, which its gaming industry has dominated for decades. Macao is the only place in China where casinos are legal.

In May, incumbent Chief Executive Ho Iat-seng said the gaming industry accounted for less than 40% of the city’s gross domestic product, down from its past contribution of about 60%. Last year, his government rolled out a diversification plan to boost the tourism and leisure industry and other sectors such as traditional Chinese medicine, finance, and exhibition and commerce.

Ho decided not to seek reelection due to health reasons.

Sam was born in Guangdong province in 1962 and graduated from the law school of Peking University in Beijing. He studied the Portuguese language, culture and law at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. He once worked as a lawyer in mainland China.

Sam was the city’s top judge from when Macao returned to Chinese rule in 1999 until he resigned in August.

Critics have questioned his ability to administer a government given his lack of business and executive background.

He previously said he has worked and lived in Macao for nearly 40 years. He argued his understanding of Macao is no worse than that of many well-known figures and likened his experience of managing the city’s courts to running a small government.

Sam has also handled some politically sensitive cases during his tenure, including upholding the police’s ban on a vigil commemorating China’s bloody 1989 military crackdown on the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests. The top court also ruled in the authorities’ favor over their decision to bar pro-democracy figures from joining the legislative election in 2021.

The sole candidate for the upcoming election for the Macao chief executive post, Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, waits for questions near the slogans "Entrepreneurship and Solidarity, Persistence and Innovation" at a press conference at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex in Macao, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Kwan)

The sole candidate for the upcoming election for the Macao chief executive post, Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, speaks near the slogans "Entrepreneurship and Solidarity, Persistence and Innovation" at a press conference at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex in Macao, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Kwan)

The sole candidate for the upcoming election for the Macao chief executive post, Sam Hou-fai, the city's former top judge, waves as he leaves the stage after a press conference at the China-Portuguese-speaking Countries Commercial and Trade Service Platform Complex in Macao, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Anthony Kwan)