BLYTHEVILLE, Ark. (AP) - The latest fatal shooting in a small northeast Arkansas town has put some residents on edge and its understaffed police department scrambling to curb a recent uptick in homicides.
The death of 23-year-old Delvin Meadows on Friday is the second homicide this year in the town of around 15,000. Last year, Blytheville reported six slayings.
Police want to step up patrols in the area, but the department is struggling with a much smaller force than in past years. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (https://bit.ly/2oTUOzt ) that the department had 62 officers on the force in 2004, but the ranks have since dwindled to 33.
Residents vote next month on a sales tax increase that will raise salaries for officers and firefighters.
Blytheville is about 190 miles northeast of Little Rock.
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Information from: Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, https://www.arkansasonline.com
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