Police: Motive in Little Rock Sonic Drive-In shooting believed to be robbery

Police investigate a shooting at a Little Rock Sonic Drive-In Wednesday night.
Police investigate a shooting at a Little Rock Sonic Drive-In Wednesday night.

3:20 P.M. UPDATE:

Investigators now believe that robbery was the motive in a shooting that critically injured a Sonic Drive-In employee Wednesday night in west Little Rock.

Authorities had previously said the motive was unclear, though robbery was one possibility. Lt. Steve McClanahan said Thursday afternoon that investigators now believe that's what occurred.

"We're comfortable saying that at this point," he said. "That's the direction we're going in."

McClanahan said the 20-year-old victim, Olivia Stanage, remained in critical condition. He said police were not disclosing how many times she was shot.

He said no arrests had been made and that police were continuing to search for three black men reported to have driven away from the scene.

Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

EARLIER:

A 20-year-old employee at a west Little Rock Sonic restaurant remained in critical condition Thursday after being shot multiple times while serving food Wednesday night.

A police report identified the victim as Olivia Stanage and said she went into surgery late last night at Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock.

Stanage was shot multiple times in the chest while working in the carport area, police said.

Little Rock police spokesman Lt. Steven McClanahan said Stanage was still in critical condition Thursday and that police are "aggressively" searching for three black men reported to have driven away from the scene.

Police are still investigating the motive but believe the shooting may have been the result of a robbery, McClanahan said.

The three men were seen fleeing the scene in a silver Cadillac DeVille with a ragtop, chrome grill and a temporary paper license plate, according to the report.

State troopers who were dining across Westhaven Drive at McAlister's Deli were the first to respond to the scene, McClanahan said.

One trooper was seen by an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter being taken from the scene in a neck brace. A state police spokesman said the trooper was injured trying to assist Stanage and was taken to the hospital.

The spokesman declined to elaborate.

In a statement from its corporate headquarters, Sonic said Stanage was delivering a meal when she was shot and that she was assisted by an off-duty highway patrolman and a nurse.

The statement said the franchise owner is concerned with the health of Stanage and the restaurant's other employees, while referring further questions to police.

Check back with Arkansas Online for updates on this developing story and read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

Upcoming Events