A second person has died as a result of the early Sunday shootings in Pine Bluff, the city's interim police chief confirmed Monday during a 19-minute news conference.
Interim Chief Lloyd Franklin Sr. said the man, whom he did not identify, was wounded in the shooting at University Drive and Pullen Avenue about 2:15 a.m. Sunday.
The shots left four people wounded, two of whom were in critical condition, Franklin said. The second victim died at 6:47 p.m. Sunday at CHI St. Vincent Infirmary in Little Rock.
That shooting followed a similar incident just before 1 a.m. at a party at the Sahara Temple, 820 S. Main St. in Pine Bluff, that left one man dead and eight others wounded, a police spokesman clarified Monday.
Police have not confirmed the identity of the person who died at the Sahara Temple, but former Jefferson County Justice of the Peace Delton Wright said the victim was his grandson, Marquarius Williams, 21. Williams was struck by a bullet while he was inside the building, Wright said.
Franklin clarified there were two shootings that occurred in the early hours Sunday, counting the Sahara Temple incident as one. A spokesperson for the Arkansas State Police on Sunday described the incident at the Sahara Temple as two shootings, one that left eight people wounded inside and one that involved a Pine Bluff police officer outside.
Franklin declined to offer further details, citing the ongoing investigations.
"What happened here is happening all across the nation," Franklin said.
The shootings occurred as partygoers celebrated the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff's homecoming. Franklin said during the news conference the shootings were not gang-related, but added that he believes a local fraternity had rented the Sahara Temple, a meeting place for the local Shriners.
"There was some security, but not what it should have been," Franklin said.
He said Pine Bluff police officers were not among those hired as security guards for the party.
Franklin said he was unsure how many people attended the party at the Sahara Temple. The maximum capacity at the facility is 400, according to wedding-spot.com.
A retired state trooper leading Pine Bluff police on an interim basis since July, Franklin praised his officers for the response time to both incidents.
"Pine Bluff police officers, EMT, fire department, outside agencies responded to the two main incidents," Franklin said, "but there were so many events going on in Pine Bluff that was covered by Pine Bluff police officers. They were everywhere else in the city. There were concerts, parties and nightclubs all protected by the men and women of the Pine Bluff Police Department."
The Sahara Temple shooting occurred at 12:53 a.m., Franklin said.
"A call came in to one of our officers. Zero response time, he was down the street and was inside the building taking care of the citizens of this town," he said. "One of our other officers who responded had to use force. I will not take any questions on that or make any other comments on that other than that's being handled by the Arkansas State Police."
Officers responded to the shooting at the University-Pullen intersection in less than 30 seconds, Franklin said. Police said in a Sunday news release that officers "in the area of Martha Mitchell Expressway and University heard several gunshots and went to investigate."
Mayor Shirley Washington, along with Deputy Chief Denise Richardson and Franklin, offered condolences to the families of the victims, as well as residents and UAPB alumni who came back to visit.
Franklin added that outside agencies such as the White Hall and Redfield police departments assisted Pine Bluff officers in patrolling the city for postgame activities. He also announced a partnership with the U.S. Department of Justice's Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to further investigate shootings like Sunday morning's incidents.
Clayton R. Merrill, an ATF supervisory special agent based in Little Rock, said his department is already investigating the shootings, which Franklin said could lead to federal charges against the perpetrators.
"We've been in talks for, I think it's probably been a couple of months," Merrill said. "I've brought in a local officer [or] detective to be a task force officer with ATF. What that'll do is give them the resources that my office has to them on a local level. That will give them the continuity between the local police department and the United States Attorney's Office and my office. So this will only help speed the process. This will only help to identify shooters, crime guns and make that process more streamlined to my office to bring cases into the federal system."
In a related matter, special agents of the State Police Criminal Investigation Division said Monday they had discovered that Keyyontae Vignaude, a UAPB student from Hanover Park, Ill., was the person holding a gun and backing away from an exit at the Sahara Temple early Sunday when he was struck by gunfire from a local police officer.
State police are investigating that shooting because it involved a local officer. The person wounded in that shooting had been incorrectly identified by the agency as Duane A. Everett, 24, of Eudora, although Everett was injured by gunfire while at the party.
"However, it remains uncertain whether Everett was struck by gunfire outside the Sahara Shriner's Temple which was the site of the party, or if the wound was sustained inside the building where gunfire had erupted moments earlier, leaving multiple individuals wounded and at least one dead," the State Police said in a statement issued Monday evening.
State Police said Everett assisted the Pine Bluff police officer in rendering aid to Vignaude, and both were taken by ambulance to a local hospital. Everett was treated and released, but Vignaude was later transferred by air ambulance to a Little Rock hospital, where he is listed in critical condition.
