AR - Shooting at butcher shop in Fordyce, AR (6/21/24), 2 dead, 8 injured


Victim Callie Weems' mom has known the arrested shooter since he was a child.

"23-year-old Callie Weems was shot and killed while grocery shopping at Mad Butcher, Callie's mother, Helen, confirmed to us. Callie Weems has a 10-month-old daughter and worked as a licensed practical nurse at the Dallas County Medical Center.

Helen said she has known Posey, the suspected shooter, since he was a kid."
A local guy shot down his neighbors and changed that little town for at least a generation. WHY would someone feel called to senseless violence?

jmo
 
Damage to the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce can be seen as law enforcement officers gather evidence at the site of a Friday morning shooting that left multiple people dead and others injured. More photos at arkansasonline.com/622Fordyce/.(Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Colin Murphey)
Damage to the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce can be seen as law enforcement officers gather evidence at the site of a Friday morning shooting that left multiple people dead and others injured
 
Yesterday afternoon, when I first heard about this, the local news out of Little Rock had a "special report." One of the reporters interviewed Callie Weems' parents. They interviewed them as they were coming out of the hospital, and I found it in very poor taste to do this. They had just found out their daughter had died, and the news reporter couldn't even wait for them to process what happened. It made me feel so bad for them. This was BEFORE the official presser. What ever happened to common decency?

JMO, IMO, and all other disclaimers.
 
Doherty couldn’t hear what was happening outside, and when they tried to call 9-1-1, there was no service. The group stayed inside, enduring the freezing cold in “panic mode,” with some praying and others crying, she recalled.

Her son started to cry, “but we finally got him calmed down because I didn’t want the shooter to hear.”

“We were just sitting there and praying. I was in panic mode. My son about froze to death. We tried to get him quiet, but he was saying he wanted his daddy. It felt like we were in there forever,” Doherty said. “We were in there maybe 15 minutes. I was asking the Lord to protect over everybody. I was just praying. The other lady, she was praying. She was crying.”
 

23-year-old Callie Weems was shot and killed while grocery shopping at Mad Butcher, Callie's mother, Helen, confirmed to us. Callie Weems has a 10-month-old daughter and worked as a licensed practical nurse at the Dallas County Medical Center.

Helen said she has known Posey, the suspected shooter, since he was a kid.
1000005815.jpg
 
Sadly, someone else passed away yesterday, bringing the number of deaths to four.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Officials with the Arkansas State Police have announced that a fourth person has died following the deadly mass shooting outside the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce on Friday.


ASP officials have identified the fourth victim as 81-year-old Ellen Shrum.

LINK

I was talking to my husband last night, and we used to shop at the Mad Butcher every Friday when my FIL was still alive. This just hits way to close to home. I used to work at the Hurry Back gas station that has been shown on the news. The remarkable part is that we don't know anyone involved.

My daughter and I are talking about going to the prayer service tonight. A presser is supposed to happen at 2:00 a CST this afternoon. I am hoping we learn more about the victims. I also hope that maybe a motive may be mentioned.

The other victims are Callie Weems, Roy Sturgis, and Shirley Williams.
 
Sadly, someone else passed away yesterday, bringing the number of deaths to four.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Officials with the Arkansas State Police have announced that a fourth person has died following the deadly mass shooting outside the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce on Friday.


ASP officials have identified the fourth victim as 81-year-old Ellen Shrum.

LINK

I was talking to my husband last night, and we used to shop at the Mad Butcher every Friday when my FIL was still alive. This just hits way to close to home. I used to work at the Hurry Back gas station that has been shown on the news. The remarkable part is that we don't know anyone involved.

My daughter and I are talking about going to the prayer service tonight. A presser is supposed to happen at 2:00 a CST this afternoon. I am hoping we learn more about the victims. I also hope that maybe a motive may be mentioned.

The other victims are Callie Weems, Roy Sturgis, and Shirley Williams.
It's hard when these tragedies hit too close to home. I know that from experience. It hurts, even if you didn't know the victims personally. Those locations are part of your life and you have memories and relationships with the places, and now they've been violently attacked. Hang in there.

I do appreciate your local perspective and the insights you share.

jmo
 
It's hard when these tragedies hit too close to home. I know that from experience. It hurts, even if you didn't know the victims personally. Those locations are part of your life and you have memories and relationships with the places, and now they've been violently attacked. Hang in there.

I do appreciate your local perspective and the insights you share.

jmo
Thank you. It really didn't hit me until last night. Fordyce is a nice town, really. It is just a typical small southern town. And then this happens.
 
I watched the presser, it was short. Callie Weems was killed rendering aid to someone when she was shot.

The suspect used a 12 gauge shotgun. Officers were on the scene within three minutes. Within five minutes the shooter was down. He is in Ouachita County Jail for his safety. He has had a first appearance. Limited criminal history. No motive. Can't discuss other victims still hospitalized. However, one is still in critical condition.
~~~~~
I just don't understand how you can do this in a place where you grew up, where your family has roots.

JMO, IMO, and all other disclaimers.
 
Is there any evidence that Ms. Weems was targeted?

My first thought when I saw that was that the shooter is a relative of the baby's father.
No, the presser today said there was absolutely no evidence that Ms. Weems or anyone else was targeted. The officer pointed out that Ms. Weems was rendering aid to someone who was wounded. He said she died in the most selfless way. I was crying by the end of the presser.

I was reading Mr. Sturgis' obituary today and it seemed like he was also helping others when he was killed.

The presser pointed out that the shooter really doesn't have any criminal history, which makes this all the more puzzling. A reporter asked about the shooter's medical history, and the officer said that is an avenue that they would be exploring. The officer pointed out that they really don't know what the motive was.

JMO, IMO, and all other disclaimers.
 
Posey's first appearance hearing scheduled for Tuesday, June 25, 2024 at 1:30 p.m. CST.

The initial court appearance for Fordyce mass murder suspect Travis Eugene Posey has been set.

A 13th Judicial District judge will conduct the court hearing at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Ouachita County Detention Center in Camden.

~~~SNIP~~~
LINK
~~~
I was planning on going to the first appearance hearing, but when I went by the courthouse/jail the parking lot was already filled to capacity. I decided not to go.
 


LINK


FORDYCE, Ark. – The man suspected in the deadly mass shooting at a Fordyce grocery store Friday pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Tuesday.
Travis Eugene Posey entered pleas of not guilty in Ouachita County to four counts of capital murder and ten charges of attempted capital murder tied to the shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store.

~~~SNIP~~~
 


LINK


FORDYCE, Ark. – The man suspected in the deadly mass shooting at a Fordyce grocery store Friday pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance Tuesday.
Travis Eugene Posey entered pleas of not guilty in Ouachita County to four counts of capital murder and ten charges of attempted capital murder tied to the shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store.

~~~SNIP~~
I totally understand the recent direction by media, LE, community leaders of not putting emphasis on the shooter, to take away from the publicity they often seek or to deter copycats, etc.

BUT, to hear absolutely nothing about possible motive, what lead the perp to commit the heinous crime, is also not helpful. Part of coming to grips with the tragedy is having information about it.

The silence isn't comforting, imo. We cannot correct what might be wrong if we don't even know what it is.

jmo
 

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