A man in Forth Smith, Arkansas fatally shot a neighbor who opened fire at an apartment complex over the weekend and killed an elderly woman.
The story: Police who responded to the incident, which took place on Saturday, found two bodies when they arrived at the scene. They were identified as 26-year-old Zachary Arnold and 87-year-old Lois Hicks. Arnold reportedly killed Hicks and was then fatally injured by an unnamed neighbor while he was firing his weapon at nearby apartments.
In detail: According to neighbors who witnesses the event, Arnold, who was armed with a rifle, screamed at residents at the apartment complex in an attempt to lure them outside.
“He was yelling and screaming, “You guys get out here, come out here, everyone get out of this building right now,” Janey Peugh, a resident of the apartment complex, told KFSM-TV.
Hicks, who lived in the same building as Arnold, came outside with another elderly woman to try to console the 26-year-old but got scared when they saw that he was armed. He then opened fire and shot the woman.
“There were two older women, both had come out. One of them had ran back in, and the other one ran back in, but she didn’t close her door, then he walked in and did what he did,” another resident, Amber Lane, said.
Arnold continued to fire rounds from his rifle after killing Hicks. Eventually, a neighbor, whose identity hasn’t still been revealed, grabbed their rifle and shot Arnold.
Why it matters? Neighbors pointed out that “Arnold could open fire on anyone in the apartment building.”
“If he didn’t do that, who knows how much worse it could have gotten,” one resident noted.
Authorities are currently looking into the incident. The motive for the incident is unclear. Family members told the outlet that Arnold was a veteran who suffered from a post-traumatic stress disorder and that he had a gun because he was a hunter.
The response: “We are terribly saddened by the incident which happened this morning. We are working diligently with the police in any way we can. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families today,” said the Dixie Property Management in a statement.
“Our hearts and prayers are with everyone affected by today’s events,” FSPD public information officer Aric Mitchell told KNWA-TV. “We will release additional information when appropriate and at the conclusion of our investigation.”
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