Little Rock Fire Department officials responding to a call Tuesday morning in west Little Rock found a man who had been fatally shot, a police spokesman said.
At 9:41 a.m., Little Rock firefighters were sent to 8017 W. 35th St., where a 911 caller said a man was "unresponsive," Little Rock police spokesman Lt. Michael Ford said. Firefighters found that the man, who had been shot, was dead.
Emergency services officials arrived at the scene at 9:47 a.m, and Little Rock police arrived shortly after at 9:51, Ford said. The man, who police had not publicly identified as of Tuesday evening, was found in the front room of the house at West 35th and Gillman streets.
Ford said officers interviewed a witness, though authorities did not say whether the witness was the person who had called 911.
Capt. Jason Sadowsky of the Little Rock Fire Department said the call initially arrived as a "code blue," meaning a person is not breathing and needs CPR. When ambulance and fire crews arrived and found that the man was dead and had been shot, Sadowsky said they called police.
Trees, ivy and brush have grown up around the house. Pulaski County property records say the white, one-story house was built in 1953 and is cared for through a revocable living trust for a man in Russellville.
The person named as a trustee on the property record did not return phone calls Tuesday.
Neighbors said the area was quiet, and they rarely hear police sirens or see police cars drive pass.
Christian Carter, who once lived in the area and stayed Monday night with a family member on Gillman Street, said the house on the corner had many visitors. Carter said each time he passed, he would see people in their 20s or 30s in or around the house. Carter said he was unsure who actually lived there.
The yard was littered with cans and other garbage Tuesday morning. A discarded carpet near the driveway looked as though it had recently been ripped out of the structure.
There were no vehicles parked at the residence Tuesday, though the driveway was well worn. The front entrance had a barred security door that was open wide to the room where police found the man's body. Ford said he was unsure if the door was open when firefighters first arrived.
The Police Department did not release any updates on the homicide as of Tuesday evening.
The man's death is the 29th homicide of the year in Little Rock. It occurred nine days after 33-year-old Charles Brent Gant was shot and killed about 2 miles away on West 31st Street.
Metro on 08/28/2019