LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Law enforcement officials were still looking Monday afternoon for information on the identity of at least one shooter involved in a Saturday night brawl between two Blytheville families that left one woman dead and 11 others injured or wounded.
Blytheville Police Assistant Chief Ricky Jefferson said late Monday that officers had conducted witness interviews throughout the day, but hadn’t developed a name for the fatal shooter of 19-year-old Adline King. King was killed about 11 p.m. Saturday night in the shooting that happened on the city’s west side.
Jefferson said police were uncertain how many shooters they are looking for.
“Everything we’re hearing is pointing to two, but we’re not certain. It may be even more than that,” he said.
Eleven other people were sent to area hospitals with unspecified injuries Saturday night.
Prosecutor Scott Ellington said there was at least one other shooter on King’s side of the feud.
He said King and another woman, who both have children fathered by the same man, were at the center of the argument that took place at a wake after a funeral Saturday night.
King saw her ex-boyfriend and the other woman at the event while driving by, Ellington said. She stopped and the two got into an argument.
He said King then went home and returned to the gathering with several family members and friends.
Ellington said because this was an issue between two families, it was unlikely that no one could identify the shooter.
“You’ve got two families that are gathered together over a feud. And someone knows who fired the first shot. You don’t have an unknown individual just walk up and commit a random act of violence,” he said.
Ellington said it’s not unusual for police officers in any city to have problems identifying a suspect in incidents with gun violence.
“It’s not a Blytheville-specific issue. There’s a significant issue of gun violence in Blytheville, that’s not disputed. But officers everywhere struggle with folks not identifying people with guns,” he said.
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