Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Person found shot inside car pulled over
FAYETTEVILLE — Police stopped a driver on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard on suspicion of speeding Wednesday afternoon and found a person with a gunshot wound in the back seat of the car, according to police.
A male was taken to Washington Regional Medical Center with serious injuries at 4 p.m., said Becky Stewart, Central EMS chief. Stewart said she couldn’t confirm whether the person was older than 18.
Dan Parsons and his son, Wyatt Braswell, stood in a parking lot watching police search the car. Parsons said he saw the traffic stop and four people were in the car, including one person who was shot in the leg.
He said three people jumped out and two ran away from the white car that had been headed east on MLK Jr. Boulevard.
A police officer gave the driver a slip of paper that appeared to be a speeding ticket, Braswell said. Police talked to the man twice by 4:30 p.m., Parsons said. They then placed him in handcuffs and put him in the back of a patrol vehicle.
Police searched the vehicle where they found what appeared to be drugs. That is worrisome, Parsons said.
“Drugs brings crime,” Parsons said. “When it’s your hometown, it’s not fun to watch.”
Lt. Anthony Murphy said early Wednesday evening that no further information was available and the investigation was ongoing.
The car was stopped across from the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market near the intersection of Government Avenue and MLK Jr. Boulevard.
At least seven police vehicles blocked the street and routed traffic onto Government Avenue for about 45 minutes. Crime scene investigators and patrol officers were on scene.