67 wounded by Little Rock gunfire in '17; victims up 91 percent from last year

Police say they need help of community to solve crimes

On the heels of a weekend in which four people were shot and wounded in three separate incidents, Little Rock has had nearly twice as many victims injured in shootings this year than the same period last year.

As of Monday afternoon, 67 people have been hurt by gunfire in Little Rock so far this year, according to Police Department data. That is a 91 percent increase, compared with the 35 people who were shot and survived from Jan. 1 to April 17 of last year, data show.

In 2015, there were 47 people were wounded by gunshots in the first four months of the year, and in 2014, that figure was 25, according to department data.

"It is frustrating for us when a victim won't cooperate or we don't have a crime scene," said police spokesman Lt. Steve McClanahan.

[HOMICIDE MAP: Interactive map shows killings so far this year in Little Rock, North Little Rock]

In one of the weekend shootings, the father of a 16-year-old shooting victim told police he did not want his daughter talking with officers, according to a police report.

"I wish the trend would reverse itself," McClanahan said, mentioning that police often need help from the community to solve crimes.

Department data show there were 150 injured shooting victims last year, 118 in 2015 and 98 victims in 2014.

In the first of the three shootings, police were dispatched to the 3200 block of Baseline Road for a report of shots fired, according to a police report.

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Officers went to the location, but didn't find a victim or any shell casings. About 12:42 a.m. Sunday, police were called to Baptist Health Medical Center in Little Rock for a shooting report, police said.

The 16-year-old girl had been shot in her right knee, the report said.

The teenager told police she did not know anything, and her father told officers he did not want authorities talking to his daughter, according to the report.

Authorities later found a crime scene in the parking lot of the Baseline Bilingual School, located at 3425 Baseline Road.

The second shooting of the weekend occurred at 1:51 a.m. Sunday when a 19-year-old man was hit in a drive-by shooting, according to a report.

Kaleb Patterson, 19, of Little Rock said he had been walking on West 32nd Street with his girlfriend when a dark-colored pickup stopped on the street, the report said.

Shots were fired from the truck, the report says. The couple ran, but Patterson was shot in his right shin, police said.

The third shooting came Sunday evening near the intersection of West 28th and Madison streets.

Two men -- Andre King, 26, and Tyler McBride, 21, both of Little Rock -- were shot when someone in a white F-150 opened fire, the report said.

King was shot in the buttock while McBride was hit in the left calf, according to the report.

Both men were taken by private vehicle to the UAMS Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

About four blocks from that shooting, two 16-year-old were shot a week earlier on Palm Sunday. One of the victims in the shooting was arrested later that day and charged with first-degree battery, according to a report.

At that scene, Police Chief Kenton Buckner said the double shooting was an example of a violent crime trend in Little Rock that began toward the end of last year.

He said violent crime cases have caused fear and frustration in the community, and while police are working hard to combat the violence, they cannot be the only entity responsible for the crime.

"There has to be some accountability from our community, specifically from the families and the parents of these individuals," he said. "Because also, [as] part of that pattern, many of these folks appear to be getting younger and younger."

Metro on 04/18/2017

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