Late-night club firefight leaves 28 hurt
Little Rock shootout blamed on gangs
An apparent late-night gang beef at a nightclub in Arkansas transformed the venue into a chaotic scene when a violent 11-second firefight left 25 people with gunshot wounds and three others hurt during a barrage that sent partygoers scrambling for safety.
Officials in Little Rock said the shots fired about 2:30 a.m. at a rap concert at the Ultra Lounge yesterday could have been the latest incident in a recent surge of street violence that has been punctuated by drive-by shootings citywide.
Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola told reporters the mass shooting stemmed from a “disagreement among a small subset of people that turned violent because of rivalries and weapons.”
Stodola, flanked by city officials, decried the prevalence of guns in his city, saying the government has a part to play in taking the firearms off the street.
“We need to do these things before tragedies happen,” Stodola said. “We got to use a big hammer on the people who would do violence with guns and hurt people.”
Police Chief Kenton Buckner said 28 men and women ranging in age from 16 to 35 were injured when the shots rang out inside the crowded concert. Twentyfive were shot and three were injured as people rushed to safety. Three are in critical condition, he said.
Police said they didn’t have any suspects in custody, and didn’t know how many shooters opened fire.
“In America today, we are unfortunately seeing this play out too much,” Buckner said.
The mayor said the club would be shut down.
“This activity downtown is going to cease,” Stodola said.
The shooting capped a violent week in Arkansas’ largest city. Police had responded to a dozen drive-by shootings over the previous nine days.
“This does appear to be a continuation of disputes from some of our local groups,” Buckner said. “You’ve seen some of the things playing out in our streets that has resulted in drive-by shootings.”
In a statement, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said, “Little Rock’s crime problem appears to be intensifying.”
“Every few days it seems a high-profile shooting dominates the news, culminating with this morning’s event,” Hutchinson said. “I have offered both my heartfelt concern over this senseless violent tragedy and state assets as needed to address the continued threat of violence in our community.”
A video posted to Facebook that captured the shooting included audio of at least 24 rounds fired in about 11 seconds.
Darryl Rankin, who posted the video, said a friend who attended the Finese 2Tymes concert with him had a bullet “stuck in his spine.”
Glass from the Power Ultra Lounge’s second story windows littered the ground, along with empty drink cups. In the parking lot, a silver Toyota had what appeared to be a streak of blood on the front passenger-side door.
Raida Bunche, who was waiting outside the club after hearing from a friend that her son had been inside, said, “I’m sick of all the killing and I’m tired of all the shooting. The kids getting hurt.”