One person was killed and at least 24 others, including children, were injured in a shooting at a car show in Dumas, Arkansas, on Saturday night, police said.
On Wednesday, the Arkansas State Police arrested Brandon Deandra Knight in connection with the shooting. Authorities took Knight in custody as he was being released from a Dumas hospital. He was charged with first degree battery and aggravated assault and was being held at the Dumas City Jail. Police did not provide details on a motive.
Police said Sunday that they were searching for other potential suspects who may also have been shooting into the crowd.
According to the organization behind the event, Hood-Nic, the children who were shot are stable. Many others who were injured are still in critical condition, Kris Love-Keys, the organization's chief development officer, told BuzzFeed News.
Hours after the shooting, the organization posted on Facebook that "[w]e are heartbroken and in shock."
Hood-Nic — short for "neighborhood picnic" — was founded to "bring the community together and reduce senseless violence in the streets," Love-Keys said. The car show was one of several fundraising events to provide scholarships and school supplies to children in Dumas.
"The car show had just started, and all was going well, when suddenly shots were fired," Love-Keys said. "Hood-Nic has always been a family-friendly event, and we have never had issues of violence in the past."
Here’s a look at the scene, right next to the McDonald’s. Multiple agencies are here #ARNews
Wallace McGehee, a founding member of Hood-Nic and organizer of the car show, also told KATV on Saturday night that they had put on the event for the past 16 years "without a problem."
"We're hurting in the community," McGehee said. "We apologize for all this to happen. This has never happened with us in our event, ever."
The group also set up a form on its website for attendees to share how they were affected by the shooting, and is collecting donations to help support the victims.
The American Public Health Association says gun violence in the US is a public health crisis. It is a leading cause of premature death in the country, responsible for more than 38,000 deaths annually. As of March 20, at least 9,204 people have died from gun violence this year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive.