A tragic incident occurred on Friday, June 21 in Fordyce, Arkansas, as a quiet shopping trip turned fatal when gunfire broke out at the Mad Butcher store. The violent episode claimed four lives and injured nine others, including two law enforcement officers. The alleged shooter, Travis Eugene Posey, 44, was wounded during a police shootout and subsequently apprehended.

The deceased include 23-year-old Callie Weems, a licensed practical nurse and mother to a 10-month-old child, 50-year-old Roy Sturgis, and 63-year-old Shirley Kay Taylor. A fourth victim, Ellen Shrum, 81, succumbed to her injuries on Saturday.

The shooting started around 11:30 a.m. when Posey allegedly began firing outside the grocery store, shattering the front windows before moving his attack inside. Shoppers and employees, seeking safety, took shelter in the store’s freezers.

Katrina Doherty, who was shopping with her two children when the shooting began, recounted the terrifying experience: “It was like slow motion my daughter was like Mama, pinch me this can’t be real, and I was like, Baby, it’s real.”

Doherty, along with her children and others, took refuge in a freezer. “We were just sitting there and praying. I was in panic mode. My son about froze to death,” she stated. “We tried to get him quiet, but he was saying he wanted his daddy. It felt like we were in there forever.”

With no cell service in the freezer, the group was unable to call for help. They remained in the freezer until police secured the area, after a shootout that left the two officers, James Johnson, 31, and John Hudson, 24, injured.

Helen Browning, mother of victim Callie Weems, expressed her heartbreak. Browning initially thought her daughter was safe at her job in the hospital, but her hopes were dashed when she arrived at the shooting scene: “My best friend was standing right there and I said, Kristie, tell me my baby’s OK. and she said, I can’t,” Browning said. “And that’s when I just broke.”

Browning, who knew Posey from his childhood, expressed confusion over the incident. “I just want to know why Posey woke up this morning and decided he needed to go ruin families’ lives,” she said. Browning also revealed that her niece’s father was the third victim.

Angela Atchley, daughter of deceased Shirley Kay Taylor, shared her mother’s passing on social media, honoring her as a “great woman” who “didn’t deserve this.”

The event has deeply affected Fordyce, a small city in southeast Dallas County, Arkansas, with a population of just 3,396 as of 2020. Local authorities are organizing counseling services for survivors and those impacted by the tragedy.

Posey, a truck driver, is currently in a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries from the shootout, according to Arkansas State Police. He is expected to face four counts of capital murder, and 10 counts of attempted capital murder.

The motive for the shooting is still under investigation. Law enforcement officials indicate no signs of extremism. Posey was previously arrested in 2011 for possessing a firearm near Fort Drum, an army base in upstate New York.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders thanked law enforcement and first responders for their “heroic actions” following the shooting. The White House confirmed President Joe Biden has been briefed and is receiving regular updates.

The Mad Butcher grocery store, where the shooting took place, released a statement expressing their shock and sorrow over the “senseless act of violence.” The store will remain closed during the ongoing investigation.

As Fordyce begins the healing process, questions persist about what led Posey to allegedly carry out the shooting. The incident has reignited debates about Arkansas’s gun laws, which are among the least restrictive in the United States.