The count of the injured from an early Saturday morning shooting at a nightclub in Little Rock, Arkansas, has risen to 28. Of these, 25 were hit by gunfire, with three others suffering non bullet-related wounds. Police said “some sort of dispute broke out between people inside” at the Power Ultra Lounge. They also said there was probably more than one shooter, but that the incident was not related to terrorism or an “active shooter,” but rather the consequences of a dispute among club patrons. All the injured are expected to survive.
A video posted online by a club patron, Darryl Rankin, showed a packed house for Finese 2Tymes, a performer from Memphis, Tennessee. About a half-minute into a break in the raucous concert, several bursts of gunfire rang out — more than 24 shots in an 11-second period.
Rankin told The Associated Press that he was recording the show on Facebook Live when gunfire erupted and that one of his friends is now at a hospital with a bullet “stuck in his spine.”
One club-goer said in an interview: “I just closed my eyes, got down on the ground and put my hands on my head.”
In a statement, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson praised the first responders to the shooting and added:
Little Rock’s crime problem appears to be intensifying. Every few days it seems a high profile shooting dominates the news, culminating with this morning’s event. I have spoken this morning with Mayor Stodola and I have offered both my heart felt concern over this senseless violent tragedy and state assets as needed to address the continued threat of violence in our community. We are still gathering facts, but it is clear that we need to have a comprehensive enforcement strategy in place that helps take violent threats off the streets. The state will participate and bring assets to the table to support local law enforcement efforts.
Update: Without additional information, police are now saying the shooting may be gang-related.
The shooting capped a violent week in Arkansas’ largest city. Police had responded to a dozen drive-by shootings over the previous nine days.
“This does appear to be a continuation of disputes from some of our local groups,” Buckner said. “You’ve seen some of the things playing out in our streets that has resulted in drive-by shootings.”