Shooting death remains under investigation

The investigation is ongoing in the death of a 25-year-old man who was shot during a home invasion earlier this month.

Capt. Scott Harwell, of the El Dorado Police Department’s Criminal Investigative Division, said the probe into the fatal shooting of Xavier Q. Thrower has not yet produced any concrete information that could result in an arrest.

At 9:12 p.m. on June 14, officers responded to a report of shots fired at the residence at 2308 Helena St. and upon arrival, they found Thrower lying motionless on his stomach with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the stomach.

An ambulance was summoned to the scene and Thrower was transported to Medical Center of South Arkansas. He was pronounced dead a short time later, police said.

Police said the glass was shattered in a storm door underneath the carport when they arrived at the Helena Street residence.

When previously asked about a possible motive in the case, Lt. Andrew Russell, EPD public information officer, said investigators had not established a motive but that robbery was a possibility, explaining that the suspect stole a purse that belonged to woman who was at the residence at the time.

The woman told officers that she was inside a bedroom when a male entered the residence and shots were fired. She said she ran from to the bathroom and used her cell phone to call 911.

However, the suspect pushed open the bathroom door and demanded her purse, the woman said..

“She fell and the phone flew from her hand. He shot the phone and he grabbed her purse and ran out,” Russell said.

While en route to the scene in response to the initial report of shots fired, officers were notified by 911 dispatchers that a woman, presumably the woman from the Helena Street residence, was knocking on a neighbor’s door, asking for help.

Police said Thrower was lying in the doorway that led from the dining room to the kitchen inside the residence at 2308 Helena.

Russell said only one suspect is believed to have entered the residence.

Thrower’s body was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for an autopsy.

On Wednesday, Harwell said investigators are still awaiting official reports from the crime lab regarding the autopsy and evidence that has been submitted for analysis.

Police said persons of interest had been identified but they have not yet firmly identified a suspect or made any arrests.

Also, robbery has not yet been confirmed as the motive of the burglary and shooting.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to call the CID at 870-8814810 or Crime Stoppers at 870-INFO (4636).