Helena-West Helena police and state investigators are looking into two shootings that left one teenager dead and a man critically wounded Friday night.
Officers were monitoring a graduation after-party because it had a couple hundred people in attendance, Police Chief Virgil Green said Saturday.
The party was near the Perry Street and Oakland Avenue area, according to a police news release.
Several fights had broken out and a crowd had gathered outside the building when police heard gunshots. They found Devon Bridget, 19, shot, according to the release.
Bridget was taken to the Helena Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead just before 2 a.m., Green said.
"The scene at the hospital became very chaotic," according to the news release.
A little less than 45 minutes later, Markius Carpenter was taken via private vehicle to the emergency room with gunshot wounds, according to the news release.
Carpenter was airlifted to Memphis and was in critical condition as of Saturday afternoon, Green said.
Police investigated the area of Cherrydale and Kentucky Street, where the second shooting reportedly happened, and found several shell casings and other evidence that suggested a shooting had occurred, according to the news release.
Because there were multiple crime scenes and the injuries were serious, Green requested assistance in the investigations from the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division.
Investigators had several suspects detained for questioning Saturday, according to a Helena-West Helena Police Department Facebook post.
Police asked that anyone who was at the scene of the first shooting call the Helena-West Helena Criminal Investigation Division at (870) 572-3441.
Metro on 05/22/2016