Slain man fondly recalled by bar patrons

LITTLE ROCK — The person shot and killed early Saturday morning at a Little Rock bar was a well- liked doorman who employees and regulars said was a pillar of the community.

Little Rock police have not released the identity of the victim shot about 1 a.m., but police spokesman Mark Edwards said the person was apparently an employee at Pizza D’Action at 2919 W. Markham St.

The bar’s Facebook page posted a photo of Charles “Charlie” Willis, identifying him as the man who was killed. On Saturday afternoon, a bartender said Willis was a regular who started working as a doorman.

“Our employees and customers have experienced a traumatic event with someone we all deeply cared about,” the post read, adding that the bar would be open Saturday to give people a place to grieve and remember Willis.

Edwards indicated that the victim’s identity had been shared on social media without confirming it. He was also unable to say if there was a suspect Saturday afternoon, nor could he say what the circumstances of the shooting were.

“He was a special part of that place,” Jeremiah Stark, a Pizza D’s regular, said of Willis, whom he had gotten to know over many years at the bar.

Willis was a big guy, and capable of physically removing rowdy customers, but was always more likely to try and deescalate and calm someone down than throw his weight around, Stark said.

Willis was the kind of person who would make an effort to learn someone’s name and make them feel special.

“When I walked in the door, he would push people out of the way to give me a big old Charlie bear hug,” Stark said.

Willis was always kind and willing to chat about music or share memories, Jackson Gladden, another regular, wrote in a Facebook message.

Gladden said Willis was hugely supportive of the city’s music scene, including Gladden’s band Moon Mane.

“I swear you bought the same Moon Mane shirt four times and you pretended like it was your first every time,” Gladden wrote in a Facebook post.

“We lost a true rockstar last night,” Gladden wrote.