PB police seeking tips on shooting that injured two

PINE BLUFF - Pine Bluff police are investigating a Sunday night shooting that injured two and sent dozens scrambling for cover at one of the city’s most popular parks.

Sgt. David De Foor with the Pine Bluff Police Department said Monday that Styles Scott, 20, was shot about 8 p.m. Sunday at Saracen Landing during a disturbance involving a large group of people.

Scott was listed Monday in stable condition at the Jefferson Regional Medical Center and was expected to make a full recovery, De Foor said.

Robert Wallace, 35, of Marion also was injured by shattered glass when a bullet struck a vehicle, De Foor said. He was treated and released.

De Foor said officers were already on the scene clearing traffic when the shots were fired. There is no known motivation for the shooting, and no suspects have been arrested, he said.

The landing - which sits on Lake Saracen in downtown Pine Bluff - is a popular gathering spot for picnickers, fishermen and nature lovers by day, but at night it sometimes attracts loiterers en masse, officials with the Pine Bluff Parks and Recreation Department said.

Parks officials said they have had problems in the past with large crowds causing traffic jams, though reports of violence are rare. No damage was reported at the park as a result of Sunday night’s shooting.

Saracen Landing on Monday afternoon was mostly empty, save for a few people who fished from the docks. In a parking space about 200 yards from the main pier, glass still littered the pavement and black tire marks were visible along the main road through the park.

When asked about the shooting, Pine Bluff resident Randy Smith shook his head and put down his fishing pole, staring out over the water for a moment before speaking.

“It’s a shame that people just can’t get along,” Smith said. “I just don’t understand how someone can turn one of our city’s greatest treasures into a black eye. It’s just gonna give people a reason to say why they don’t want to come to Pine Bluff.”

The city’s anti-violence advocates were buzzing on social media Monday, talking about the shooting and ways to combat crime in the city.Pine Bluff resident Kelly Sanders, who has been involved in several neighborhood watch programs over the years, said the only way to stop events such as Sunday’s shooting is through education.

“You have kids out here, and that’s what most of them are - young people around 20 or so years old. … They don’t have any idea that it’s a bad idea to be swinging a gun around like it’s the old West,” Sanders said.

“It has to start at an early age. We have to educate parents so they can educate their kids that violence isn’t the answer. Violence accomplishes nothing. These young folks should be reading books or doing projects to help better their communities. The sad thing is, many of them just don’t know how to.”

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call the Pine Bluff Police Department’s detective division at (870) 730-2090 or the dispatch center at (870) 541-5300.

ADVERTISEMENT

More headlines

Arkansas, Pages 8 on 04/22/2014

Upcoming Events