LITTLE ROCK — An 18-year-old was killed early Friday morning at a Pine Bluff hotel in what police are describing preliminarily as an accidental shooting.
Devontre Robinson was pronounced dead just after 4 a.m.
Police were called shortly after 3:30 a.m. to the American Inn, 2700 E. Harding Ave.
Robinson was reportedly was shot in the chest in a room before he ran down the stairs to a breezeway on the north side of the motel, where he collapsed and died.
Details on the shooting itself were not released, but investigators say they interviewed the shooter and determined he and Robinson were friends who had been together all day. They had had no problems or disagreements and the shooter was released pending further police work.
"This just happened a couple hours ago," Lt. Bob Rawlinson said Friday morning. "They're still interviewing witnesses and they're trying to figure out what happened."
It's likely the shooter - an 18-year-old Pine Bluff resident - will be arrested on some charge, Rawlinson said.
"It's technically a homicide," he said. "He did take a human life. Even if it's an accident, he did it with a firearm. But that's totally up to the prosecuting attorney."
The weapon, described as a small caliber, semi-automatic handgun, was found in the motel parking lot.
The shooter's identity has not been released.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to call authorities at 870-543-5111.
This article was originally published at 7:09 a.m.