Police arrest 2 in shooting as fair was closing; 2 hurt

— Two men have been arrested in a shooting that injured two people near Kay Rodgers Park on Monday as the Arkansas-Oklahoma State Fair was closing for the night.

A news release from the Fort Smith Police Department said Roel Arturo Lopez, 19, and Isidro Zarate Lopez, 18, were arrested on warrants accusing them of aggravated assault with a firearm. They were being held in the Sebastian County jail Wednesday in lieu of $15,000 bond each, according to the release.

The release stated the investigation was ongoing and that more arrests were expected.

Eunice Delgado, 19, was struck in the buttocks by a stray bullet as she and her children walked along North 48th Street after leaving the fair about 10:50 p.m. Monday. Police believe the bullets were fired from an alley less than a block from the park, according to police.

Roger Kluge, 43, a worker at the fair, was struck in the right leg by a bullet Monday night.

Both victims were treated and released from local hospitals.

Fair Chairman Sherry Shumate accused the news media of distorting the facts and making it appear that the violence was taking place at the fair. In fact, she said, none of the acts of violence reported recently occurred at the fair.

Monday’s shooting, she said, took place after the fair had closed for the night. She said the lights were off and people were leaving the park.

“I believe the way the media reported it, it did hurt our attendance last night,” Shumate said Wednesday.

She said the Gretchen Wilson concert Tuesday night, for example, drew about 2,000 people when fair officials expected about 5,000.

During the weekend, police investigated two separate violent acts that police said involved gang activity and originated from the fairgrounds. In one incident, a man reported being attacked by a group of men and beaten on his way home from the fair. In another incident, several men outside the park stabbed another man in the leg in an attack.

Police believe the crimes are not connected.

Police detective George Lawson, who is acting as liaison between the fair and the Police Department, said some trouble may start at the park during the fair but normally won’t spark violence because of the number of officers patrolling the event.

He said 15 off-duty officers were working security at the fair Tuesday compared with 10 to 12 patrol units that were covering the entire city.

Lawson said he believed arrests could have been made immediately after the shootings. He said three officers were near that location and were on the scene quickly, but were given incorrect directions from witnesses that sent them in the wrong direction.

Lawson said he didn’t have any worries about safety at the fair, which continues through Saturday. He said his daughter and granddaughter were planning to attend the fair Wednesday night.

“If I had any personal concerns about safety, they wouldn’t be coming,” he said.

Arkansas, Pages 13 on 09/30/2010

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