The incident at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas, was tragic. A shooter opened fire, resulting in three fatalities and injuring 10 others, including two law enforcement officers.
The suspect was wounded in a shootout with the police, according to Arkansas State Police Director Mike Hagar.
The shooting happened around 11:30 a.m. in Fordyce, a community of approximately 3,200 residents located south of Little Rock.
The suspected shooter in the tragic incident at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas, has been identified as 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey from New Edinburg.
Police have taken him into custody and charged him with three counts of capital murder. Additional charges are pending as the investigation continues. As of now, no court date has been set, according to the inmate roster.
According to statements from authorities, it’s unclear whether Travis Eugene Posey, the suspected shooter in the Fordyce grocery store incident, has legal representation yet. The Ouachita County Sheriff’s Office has indicated they currently lack information on the matter.
Fortunately, while injuries sustained in the incident varied in severity, none were life-threatening except for one person who was in extremely critical condition.
The suspected shooter, Travis Eugene Posey, was wounded by responding officers but his injuries were not life-threatening.
Similarly, the two law enforcement officers injured during the shootout also sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, as confirmed by Arkansas Department of Public Safety Director Mike Hagar during a news conference on Friday.
The remaining injuries ranged from “not life-threatening to extremely critical,” Hagar said.
“It’s tragic, our hearts are broken,” he said.
The tragic shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas, adds to a series of devastating incidents at supermarkets across the United States.
In 2022, a white supremacist took the lives of 10 Black individuals at a Buffalo supermarket, following a similar tragedy in Boulder, Colorado, where 10 people were killed just over a year earlier.
Details regarding the Fordyce shooting were initially limited, including whether it took place inside or outside the store.
Arkansas State Police Director Mike Hagar mentioned that more information would be forthcoming later in the evening on Friday.
The shooting happened around 11:30 a.m. in Fordyce
Videos shared on social media depicted distressing scenes, including at least one person lying in the parking lot and the sound of multiple gunshots.
Reporters on-site captured images showing numerous bullet holes in the store’s windows, underscoring the intensity of the incident.
Response efforts from local and state authorities, including the landing of a medical helicopter nearby, were also evident in footage from the scene.
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.”
David Rodriguez, 58, was at a local gas station in Fordyce when he heard what he initially thought were fireworks coming from a nearby vendor’s stand.
“We heard a few little pops,” he said.
He recounted how he witnessed people fleeing from the Mad Butcher grocery store into the parking lot after hearing what he initially thought were fireworks.
He observed one person lying on the ground. Rodriguez started recording video with his phone just before the situation escalated further with gunfire.
“The police started to show up, and then there was massive gunfire and ambulances pulling up,” he said. “The bullets were just flying.”
