Police probe shooting, wreck

Hot Springs police are seeking a male suspect who reportedly fired a gun near the intersection of Grand and Central avenues Halloween evening then fled the scene, wrecking his vehicle in the process, Hot Springs police said Wednesday.

It is the fourth shooting incident in the area of Grand and Central since March.

A local woman, 24, told police that around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday she was stopped in the outside lane of West Grand Avenue, headed west, when she heard what sounded like a gunshot hit her car, Hot Springs police Cpl. Kirk Zaner said.

She looked to her left to the parking lot of the Valero, 1201 Central, where she reportedly saw a black male firing a gun a second time toward the gas station.

She said there was a second person standing on the south side of the Valero "which appeared to be the direction the black male was shooting," he said, noting she was unable to provide any description of the second person.

As she drove away, she saw the suspect run to a gold vehicle and heard a third gunshot as the suspect drove away headed east on Grand. She later arrived home and discovered a bullet hole in the driver's side door of her vehicle.

Zaner said police responded to a second report of a wreck in the parking lot of Hardee's, 249 W. Grand, at around 6:30 p.m. Witnesses said they heard gunshots from the area of Grand and Central and then saw a gold Jaguar headed eastbound that ran over the curb at the restaurant and collided with a parked gold Chevrolet Tahoe.

A witness inside the restaurant saw the wreck and said the black male driver of the Jaguar jumped out and fled on foot across the street to the Burger King, 228 W. Grand, where he ran inside.

When officers arrived at Hardee's, they found the Jaguar wedged underneath the Tahoe and noted the front air bags inside the Jaguar had both deployed, Zaner said. They also found a .380-caliber handgun on the front seat of the car.

Officers searched for the suspect, including going into the Burger King, but were unable to locate him, he said. Detectives arrived a short time later and processed the scenes at Hardee's and the Valero for evidence.

On Aug. 7, Derek A. Duvall, 29, of Hot Springs, was shot to death at the Valero. Police later identified Lindaniel West, 39, as a suspect in the shooting and he turned himself in on Aug. 23.

Four men were injured, including a bystander, in an exchange of gunfire around 11:15 p.m. March 11 at the Exxon station at 1200 Central Ave., across from the Valero.

On May 9, at around 11:30 p.m., two men were shot, one critically, when they and two others allegedly forced their way into a room at the Econo Lodge, 1204 Central Ave., just south of the Exxon station.

Anyone with information about Tuesday's incident or a possible suspect is asked to call police at 321-6789.

Local on 11/02/2017

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