Little Rock police are stepping up patrols in the wake of three shootings on Colonel Glenn Road in about a 24-hour period this week.
The three shootings, which happened in a roughly 2-mile stretch of the road, killed one teenager and left two other teenagers injured Sunday and Monday, police said.
Lt. Steve McClanahan, a Police Department spokesman, said investigators do not believe the shootings are related.
Police believe one of the shootings, which injured a 17-year-old boy Monday afternoon, is gang related, McClanahan said.
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[2017 HOMICIDES: Interactive map of this year’s slayings in Little Rock, North Little Rock]
The added patrols will focus on Colonel Glenn Road and will aim to prevent loitering and traffic violations, he said.
"We've had issues here, actually, for a number of years," McClanahan said, mentioning that the department has added extra patrols in years past during this time of year.
The extra patrols are not just in response to the recent shootings, but also in response to the warming weather and longer daylight hours, which can cause an increase in criminal activity, he said.
"A lot of times, crime can be driven by weather," McClanahan said. "As it gets warmer, more people are going to be out."
The latest of the three shootings happened late Monday. Officers were called at 11:38 p.m. to a report of a shooting and responded to Colonel Glenn Road near John Barrow Road, according to a police report.
Police found 19-year-old Deshawn Woods of Little Rock with a gunshot wound to his arm, sitting in the driver's seat of a 2011 Dodge Charger, the report said.
Woods did not have life-threatening injuries and was taken to CHI St. Vincent Infirmary.
Woods told police he was traveling eastbound on Colonel Glenn Road when he saw a muzzle flash from the right side of the vehicle he was driving, according to the report. Woods realized he was shot then sped down the road, coming to a stop near the 8500 block of Colonel Glenn Road, the report said.
Police said there was a bullet hole in the rear passenger side window.
Earlier that day, a shooting at an apartment complex on Colonel Glenn Road injured a 17-year-old, McClanahan said. He said investigators believe the incident was a gang-related shooting.
The teenager was shot multiple times during a carjacking at the Big Country Chateau and fled across the street to a Taco Bell located near the intersection of Colonel Glenn Road and South University Avenue, police said.
The teenager told police he was sitting in a 2002 Ford Mustang when someone began shooting at him, according to the report. The gunman took the Mustang, according to the report, but police later recovered the vehicle at Boyle Park. It had bullet holes in it and had been abandoned, police said.
The teenager, who was not identified in the police report, was taken to UAMS Medical Center and did not have life-threatening injuries.
On Sunday night, 19-year-old Brent Cartwright was fatally shot in the parking lot of a Kroger located at 6420 Colonel Glenn Road. Cartwright was taken to CHI St. Vincent Infirmary, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Little Rock resident Earnest Franklin lives near the Kroger and said he heard dozens of shots fired Sunday night. Franklin, who is a member of a community nonviolence group, said the Kroger parking lot is a gathering spot for young people, adding he often hears people "doing doughnuts" in the parking lot on the weekends.
Metro on 03/22/2017
