Shoppers at an Arkansas grocery store froze and hid in freezers as a crazed man went on a shooting spree, killing four people, including an 81-year-old woman who died from her injuries on Saturday.
Shoppers at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas, recalled hearing a “pop” sound just before 11:30 a.m. Friday and thinking something had fallen or someone was setting off fireworks. According to CNN:.
Katrina Dougherty had been out shopping for dinner with her 18-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son when suspected gunman Travis Eugene Posey opened fire inside the store.
The 39-year-old mother was in a different aisle to her children at the time, but ran with other shoppers to the back of the store, where she was guided by two store employees into a freezer and reunited with her children.
“We really rushed in there and the gunfire just kept ringing out,” Katrina Dougherty told the outlet.. “It was like slow motion. My daughter was like, ‘Mum, pinch me, this isn’t real,’ and I was like, ‘Baby, this is real.'”
Dougherty recalled hearing nine to 10 shots fired before taking refuge in a refrigerated warehouse, where a group of people were huddled together in “panic mode” and braving the cold, not knowing what was happening outside.
“We just sat there and prayed,” she said. “I was panicking. My son was freezing to death. We tried to keep him quiet but he kept saying he wanted his daddy. It felt like we were there forever.”
Doherty and other shoppers remained inside the freezer for about 15 minutes before police arrived and escorted them outside.
She then reunited with her twin 15-year-old daughters, who were waiting in a car outside, and took cover as gunshots rang out.
In the parking lot, Posey, who was armed with a long gun, allegedly fired shots in multiple directions, hitting multiple people before officers arrived.
Posey, 44, was shot after a shootout with police.
Arkansas State Police said the suspect has been charged with four counts of murder and that additional charges are still pending.
Posey was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and released to Arkansas State Police, who are currently custody of the Ouachita County Detention Center.
He is due to appear in court on Monday.
Shirley Taylor, 62, Carrie Weems, 23, and Roy Sturgis, 50, were identified as the civilians killed in Friday’s shooting.
Ellen Schramm, 81, died Saturday evening.
Weems, a nurse at Dallas County Medical Center and the mother of a 10-month-old daughter, was shot while grocery shopping.
“I checked Callie’s location on good old Live 360 and it showed her in hospital,” Helen Browning said. He told Fox 16“I was like, ‘She’s at work. She’s here to help.’ She was in town…”
When Browning didn’t hear back from her daughter, she rushed to the grocery store where she learned the devastating news.
“My best friend was standing there and I said, ‘Christy, please tell me the baby is OK,’ and she said, ‘No,’ and that’s when I just couldn’t take it,” Browning recalled.
“I just want to know why Joey Posey woke up this morning and decided to ruin my family’s life,” the grieving mother said.
Browning said she and Curry lost another family member in the shooting.
“My niece’s father was there too and he’s passed away,” Browning said. “It’s a double blow to our family.”
Roy Sturgis was remembered by his family in an online obituary, leaving behind his “daughter who was his pride and joy”.
Shirley Taylor’s daughter called her mother “an absolutely amazing woman” and said she “didn’t deserve to go through this.”
Nine people, aged between 20 and 65, were injured in the shooting, ASP said.
“Four of those individuals remain hospitalized, including a woman who remains in critical condition at UAMS in Little Rock.”
Three of the injured civilians have already been released from Dallas County Medical Center.
Two other officers, James Johnson of the Fordyce Police Department and John Hudson of the Stuttgart Police Department, were also wounded in the shooting.
Johnson, 31, was treated for gunshot wounds and released from hospital, while Hudson, 24, suffered “minor injuries.”
