Man fatally shot in possible home invasion

EL DORADO — A man was fatally wounded in what is believed to be a home invasion Sunday night in the Murmil Heights neighborhood.

At 9:12 p.m., the Police Department responded to a report of shots fired at 2308 Helena St. and upon arrival, they found Xavier Q. Thrower, 25, lying motionless on his stomach with what appeared to be a gunshot wound to the stomach.

An ambulance was called and Thrower was pronounced dead a short time later,.

Lt. Andrew Russell, police public information office, said Thrower’s body was been sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory in Little Rock for an autopsy.

According to a police news release, “There are persons of interest, but no names can be released at this time … the incident is currently under investigation.”

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

“We’re not 100% sure. It could be robbery. They did take a woman’s purse that was in the house,” Russell said of a possible motive.

Russell said a woman who was in the home said a man broke in and shots were fired; she ran from a bedroom into the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, the woman called 911 but the man pushed the door open and demanded the woman’s purse.

“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, officers received word from 911 dispatchers a woman, presumably the woman from the Lakeland 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.

Thrower’s death marks the second homicide in El Dorado this year.

Police are still investigating the shooting death of 36-year-old Rodney J. Hart Sr., who was found Jan. 30 lying in the yard of his residence in the 500 block of Cooper Drive. Hart died from multiple gunshot wounds.