In a video, the mayor of West Memphis pleaded for an end to violence in his city less than an hour after a suspect in a shooting that killed two surrendered to him on Sunday.
Reginald Smith, 23, surrendered to West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon and law enforcement at about 2:30 p.m., according to a statement by city police. Smith was one of two suspects wanted in the April 6 fatal shooting of two people in West Memphis.
The other suspect, Raheem Stackhouse, also 23, surrendered the previous day. The identities of the two victims have not yet been released.
According to McClendon, he received a call from Smith’s family and met with Smith before escorting him as he surrendered to authorities. The mayor said he walked and prayed with the man.
Shortly after Smith gave himself up, McClendon began driving to church. When he pulled over, he turned to Facebook Live and, speaking to residents, called for peace in the community. Despite citizens' pain, he urged viewers to consider their families and those of others before they act.
“One decision that we make in five or six seconds can ruin our lives,” he said. “And when our lives are ruined, our children suffer because we are not there showing godliness.”
In the video, McClendon, who took office Jan. 1, said the recent spate of violence was exhausting and his heart was heavy. He added that he was “tired of death.”
According to the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting database, West Memphis began experiencing a sharp uptick in homicides in 2014, a trend that reached its peak in 2016 when 14 people were killed. In 2017, though, the number halved, dropping to seven homicides. The database does not provide statistics for 2018.
In 2019, at least six people have died in shootings in West Memphis, according to reporting by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Two of those died in a police shooting in January. In April, four people, including a teen, were killed over the course of a week.
At one point in the video, the mayor himself wiped tears from his face. “I know a mayor ain’t supposed to cry,” McClendon said. “But I ain’t that kind of mayor.”
The mayor said he didn’t see anything in West Memphis that was worth dying for, and that it was time for the city to focus on the great things happening within its limits.
“I’m tired of our young men and women’s blood fertilizing our city soil,” McClendon said. “And it’s been watered by our mothers’ and fathers’ tears.”
Smith and Stackhouse are being held in the Crittenden County jail and face first-degree murder charges Tuesday, according to an online jail roster. Smith’s bond has been set at $500,000, while Stackhouse’s is at $750,000.