Two women were killed and a 2-year-old boy was seriously injured early Saturday in a shooting at their Little Rock home in what detectives have described as a domestic-related double homicide, police said.
Officers were dispatched to a home at 3112 S. Ringo St. shortly before 1:40 a.m. on an “unknown trouble” call, said Little Rock Police Officer Eric Barnes, an agency spokesman.
Police found three shooting victims inside the home, two women who were dead and a toddler who was shot in the upper body, he said. A fourth person, a teenage girl, also was in the house, according to police. She was uninjured.
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The boy was transported to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where he at one point was reported to be in serious but stable condition. Barnes said shortly before 8 p.m. that the youth had been released from the hospital.
Police said they have identified a suspect, but didn’t immediately release the person’s name. The names of the victims also had not been released as of Saturday afternoon.
"It's just sad man," said Brandon Butler, 36, who had been a tenant in the home until November 2018. "I feel for them. We all want a safe environment to raise our kids. No child should have to deal with that. No family, no mom, no dad should have to deal with that."
Butler said he didn't know much about the people who moved into the house after him, only that a young child lived there with his mother.
Detectives think the slayings were the result of a domestic disturbance and an isolated incident, according to police. Barnes said he wasn't sure whether the teenage girl inside the house called 911 or if she notified someone else and that person called law enforcement.
Police officers started removing the yellow tape around the house shortly before noon. Crime scene technicians remained on scene throughout the day.
Saturday's killings were the fourth and fifth homicide of the year in Little Rock, Barnes said.
This story was originally published at 8:39 a.m.
CORRECTION: Because of incorrect information provided by police, an earlier version of this story misstated the address at which a shooting happened. The shooting took place at 3112 S. Ringo St. in Little Rock