North Little Rock police shot a gunman near a tobacco store next-door to a police precinct office about noon Thursday, according to spokeswoman Amy Cooper.
Officers in the Police Department's Rose City office heard gunshots at 12:12 p.m. coming from the parking lot of the Tobacco Outlet at 4615 E. Broadway, Cooper said.
They responded, and "the encounter resulted in at least one officer with the North Little Rock Police Department firing shots at the subject," Cooper said. "The subject was struck by gunfire and has been transported to a local hospital for treatment."
The suspect, who was not identified and whose condition was unknown Thursday, was shooting his firearm when officers arrived, Cooper said.
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After hearing the initial gunfire, some responding officers moved civilians away from the gunfire, while other officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, according to a news release.
The suspect jumping into a bystander's vehicle parked in the lot, the release said. The suspect refused to drop his weapon and pointed it at officers, who fired at him, according to the release.
Four officers have been placed on administrative leave in accordance with department policy, the release said. The officers were not identified.
After the shooting, a small crowd of people gathered across the street from the crime scene, with some angrily shouting at officers and some crying.
Thursday's shooting comes within a week of the police-related death of a handcuffed man in Minneapolis. Video, which has gone viral, shows a police officer with his knee against the man's throat and the man saying he can't breathe. That death has sparked protests across the country.
"We understand that any incident, no matter where it occurs, how close in proximity and time that it occurs is troubling for the community and for officers," Cooper said. "We understand that incidents like this cause uncertainty and fear."
Cooper said the department will conduct a "thorough" investigation of Thursday's shooting.
Ricky Wilson, an employee of a pawnshop across the street from the tobacco store, said he heard police yell multiple times at the man to put down his pistol and saw the man get into the car.
"They started trying to tell him 'put the gun down, put the gun down, put the gun down,'" Wilson said. "They must have told him 10 or 11 times, and he wouldn't do it."
Police held their fire, according to Wilson, until the man got into the vehicle.
"He ran and jumped into the vehicle and started waving the gun some more, and that's when police officers opened fire," Wilson said.
The three officers who initially confronted the man quickly grew to five, then to 20 as the encounter dragged on for 15-20 minutes, according to Wilson.
Cooper confirmed that the altercation went on for "minutes," but she did not know exactly how long, saying investigators were compiling a timeline. Investigators were unsure Thursday if the suspect fired at police or how many officers fired at the gunman, Cooper said.
Jeffrey Donahoo said he was unhappy about how police handled the situation. The man, who he said is his best friend, was shot seven times, despite not firing a shot.
"He had a gun, but he didn't deserve to get shot seven f * * * * * * g times," Donahoo said.
Some social media posts claimed that multiple people were struck by gunfire, but that is untrue, Cooper said.
"In this incident, there was only one individual that was struck by gunfire," she said.
CORRECTION: North Little Rock police did not say that a man who was shot by officers on Thursday was involved in an attempted robbery before he was shot. An earlier version of this headline and article incorrectly described details provided by a police spokesman.
Metro on 05/29/2020