Springdale officer shoots 17-year-old in the head

SPRINGDALE — A Springdale police officer shot a teen in the head Wednesday morning after he pointed a gun at him, according to a release from Capt. Jeff Taylor.

The department received a call around 12: 50 a. m. Wednesday saying a woman had been shot on Eicher Avenue in Springdale.

When officers arrived, they found Argentina Agee, 31, shot in the arm, according to the news release.

Officers were told the suspect was in a blue Chevrolet Tahoe, which they found nearby in the driveway at 1115 Eicher Ave., the release states. Eicher Avenue is about two blocks from Murphy Park.

Officers found a 17-yearold lying under a blanket in the back seat. An officer opened the rear passenger door and told him to show his hands, according to the the release.

The teen began to sit up, and as he did, he pointed a pistol at the officer who then fired, hitting the teen in the head, according to the news release.

The teen’s identity isn’t being released at this time, the release states.

Officers began providing first aid to the teen and Agee until paramedics arrived on the scene. Both he and Agee were taken to local hospitals for their injuries, according to the release.

The investigation of use of deadly force by the officer as well as the shooting of the woman is being handled by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office.

The off icer has been placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard protocol pending the Sheriff ’s Office investigation as well as an internal investigation, the release states.

This is the second time in the last two weeks an officer has fired his weapon at a suspect near Murphy Park. Police received a call about 6 p.m. Feb. 15 from a woman saying Ethan Brasel, 20, wouldn’t get out of her car in the western parking lot of Murphy Park on South Pleasant Street, according to a department news release. The caller reported Brasel had a pistol in his front waistband and there was another gun in the car, police said.

Officers said they found Brasel sitting in the front passenger seat of a white car. Officers ordered Brasel out of the car and asked if he had any weapons, the release says.

Brasel said he didn’t have a weapon, but officers could see a rifle in the front passenger seat of the vehicle, the release says. Brasel ran when one of the officers began to pat him down in a search for weapons, police said.

An officer yelled Brasel had a gun as police chased him west from the park, police said. An officer ordered Brasel to drop the gun, according to the release. An officer then fired his gun at Brasel but didn’t hit him, the release said.

The call about Tuesday’s shooting came from a house at the intersection of Eicher and South Pleasant Street, a half-mile south of Murphy Park, which also is on Pleasant, the site of the Feb. 15 shooting.

Taylor said the shootings aren’t related.

Kelly Cantrell, a spokesman for the Sheriff’s Office, said the investigation of that incident is also continuing.

(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe) A residence, located at 1115 Eicher Ave. in Springdale, was the scene early Wednesday of an officer-involved shooting after police say a man pointed a gun at an officer who was responding to a call saying a woman had been shot. Visit nwaonline.com/photo for today’s photo gallery.