One person has died after a shooting in downtown Little Rock, and officers were investigating a separate homicide outside a Volvo dealership in the city Friday night, police said.
A plainclothes undercover officer in the area of 2nd and Cross streets heard shots just after 6:15 p.m. and saw a car and an SUV flee a nearby parking lot, Little Rock police spokesman officer Eric Barnes said. The plainclothes officer tried to pursue the vehicles and radioed for support.
Units that were in the area due to the protest at the state Capitol, which was less than a mile away from the scene, were able to stop the two vehicles, one at 4th and Chester streets, and the other on Interstate 630 near Commerce Street, according to Barnes.
Police said members of the National Guard treated a victim found at the scene before he was transported to an area hospital in critical condition. He later died, police said. Barnes couldn’t immediately confirm the victim’s identity or age.
No arrests have been made, though people in both vehicles have been detained, according to police.
Officers responding to a disturbance with a weapon call found a vehicle on a curb just outside of McLarty Volvo, 1500 N. Shackleford Rd., he said. Two people inside the vehicle suffered gunshot wounds and were transported for treatment.
Police said the driver, a man, later died. The passenger was in serious condition. Barnes wasn’t immediately able to confirm the identity of the two victims.
According to the spokesman, police believe someone shot at the victims’ vehicle, and rifle rounds were found in the road. The dealership was also struck by bullets.
Barnes said a suspect in the slaying is believed to be driving a maroon vehicle occupied by a male with dreadlocks, and no arrests had been made Friday evening.
CORRECTION: The name of the dealership at 1500 N. Shackleford Rd. is McLarty Volvo. An earlier version of this story misspelled its name.