Authorities in West Memphis said Friday they arrested three people in connection to the fatal shooting of a woman, one of two separate shootings in the eastern Arkansas city that capped off a violent early-April weekend that left three people dead.
The West Memphis Police Department said the latest arrests stem from the early morning killing of a woman in the 600 block of Oxford Street on April 6. Officials said the victim, whose identity hasn't been released, suffered a fatal gunshot wound and died at the scene.
Officials said Friday that officers arrested Kentavia Smith, 25, and Dontavious Henderson, 22, who both face first-degree murder charges, among other felonies.
A third person, 24-year-old Cadedra Young, was charged with hindering prosecution after she allegedly lied to investigators by providing a false alibi for one of the men, authorities said.
Officers responded to a separate shooting hours earlier in the 1800 block of E. Broadway where two gunmen allegedly fired at three people, killing two and injuring another, officials said. Police haven’t identified the victims in that case, citing ongoing investigations.
Two men have been charged in that case, including a 23-year-old suspect who reportedly surrendered to local police after West Memphis Mayor Marco McClendon met with his family and escorted him to the police station.
Following the arrest, the mayor took to social media calling for an end to violence that’s plagued the sub-25,000 population city in a live-streamed video.
At least six people have been fatally shot there so far this year, including four in April, according to past Democrat-Gazette reports.
“I’m tired of our young men and women’s blood fertilizing our city soil,” McClendon said in the video, during which he wiped away tears. “And it’s been watered by our mothers’ and fathers’ tears.”
Months into his first term, McClendon's pleas came days after a 16-year-old high school athlete was fatally struck by a bullet while in his grandmother's living room. Police have made no arrests in that case and said have said the teen was not the shooter’s intended target.
Smith and Henderson remained in the Crittenden County jail Friday with bond set at $500,000. Young was released from the facility earlier this week.
County and court records didn’t list an attorney representing them to comment on the charges.