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Shots Fired at Arkansas Democrat Party Headquarters

deepdiver

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LITTLE ROCK — Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney was shot at the State Democratic Party Headquarters in Little Rock, Wednesday. His condition is unknown.
An aid from the governors office confirmed the shooting about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday. The shooting occurred at approximately 12 p.m.
Police are chasing a the driver of a blue pickup connected with this shooting south, which took the Sheridan exit onto Hwy. 167.
Gwatney was taken from the scene by ambulance, according to witnesses.
Come back to Arkansas Online for this developing story


http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/aug/13/police-chasing-after-shooting-democratic-party-hea/



EDIT: This may possibly end up being a huge story depending on who did the shooting, or may end up being nothing. Definitely worth following for now though.
 

DopaVash

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Yeah I just heard about this. I think any violence in this very unstable political atmosphere could be a very bad thing.
 

Sonora Rebel

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This ain't gonna go well for gun people. 'Heard on the radio the perp was captured... Also heard he was killed... but there's no confirmation. 'Hope he was carryin' illegally... prior felon or such.
 

DopaVash

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Even if he was a CHL holder, it would go against all statistics prior. It could be a hit against our cause, however it is very unlikely.
 

Sonora Rebel

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Dunno if he used a long gun or not tho... Still... this is the kind'a thing that feeds the anti's frenzy.



Whatever the case... 'Just on the radio... the shooter is dead.



Uh oh... just on the radio... the victim... the AR Dem Chairman is dead now too.
 

deepdiver

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I am most interested in finding out who the shooter is, what his relationship to Gwantney was and if it is possible to figure out why this happened since the death of the shooter. I'm suspecting this is either personal, or if something political, that it is within the (D) party and has nothing to do with anything else. We shall see, maybe. This is AR so if the investigative results don't make sense we have to retain the willingness to call horse squeeze on the conclusions.



LITTLE ROCK — A gunman shot Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney three times at the State Democratic Party Headquarters in Little Rock on Wednesday, fleeing the scene in a pickup and leading police on a chase down Interstate 530 that ended in gunfire.

Gwatney was transported to the hospital, where he is in critical condition.
The Little Rock police said about 2:30 p.m. that the suspect was dead after being shot by authorities near Sheridan, around 40 miles south of the capital city.
An aide from the governor's office confirmed the shooting about 12:20 p.m. Wednesday.

The shooting occurred in a headquarters office about 11:49 a.m. Wednesday, Lt. Terry Hastings, spokesman for the Little Rock Police Department, said during a news conference at the scene at 1300 W. Capitol Ave.

Hastings said a white man walked into an office at the state Democratic headquarters and fired several shots. Gwatney's secretary told The Associated Press that the gunman had wanted to speak Gwatney and, after being denied entry, went into the office anyway. Police are not confirming the identity until all family members have been notified.

After the shooting, police chased the driver of a blue pickup south on I-530 to U.S. 167 toward Sheridan. That chase ended with an exchange of gunfire between the driver and police.

Gwatney, 48, was transported by ambulance to UAMS, according to witnesses.
A white man in a white t-shirt also flashed a gun in the Arkansas Baptist Convention building downtown, according to witnesses. The man left without incident, but police were called.

The man fled in a blue pickup after the shooting, and police pursued him around 12:10 p.m. as he drove on I-530. The gunman avoid spike strips and a road block placed near Sheridan but was thwarted by Grant County sheriff's units, who rammed his truck to disable it near Little Creek Road and Highway 46.

Then, according to a Grant County sheriff's office spokesman, L. Huey, the suspect fired two shots as his truck spun around. Arkansas State Police officers, who also were involved in the pursuit, fired back at him.

Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

http://www2.arkansasonline.com/news/2008/aug/13/police-chasing-after-shooting-democratic-party-hea/

AND ANOTHER VERSION:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/13/arkansas-democratic-party-chairman-injured-in-shooting/

The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party was hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday after being shot inside party headquarters in Little Rock, FOX News has confirmed. Three shots were reportedly fired before a man escaped the area in a blue truck. However, the suspect was shot and killed following a 30-mile car chase with police, Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings told FOX News.

Sarah Lee, a sales clerk at a flower shop across the street from party headquarters, said that around noon Gwatney’s secretary ran into the shop and asked someone to call 911. She said a man had come into the party and shot Gwatney multiple times.
Lee said the secretary told her the man barged into the party’s office and asked to speak with Gwatney. When the secretary said she wouldn’t allow him to meet with Gwatney, the man went into his office and shot him, Lee said.

She said the secretary described the man as a white male in his 40s, wearing a white shirt and khaki-colored pants. The secretary told Lee he drove off in a blue truck.
Lee told FOX News: “He demanded to talk to Bill Gwatney,” and said the secretary knew the gun went off, not the extent of the injuries.

Lee said several other employees were also in the building at the time of the shooting.

“They all left the building as quick as they could.”

Arkansas Democratic party spokeswoman Darinda Sharp said Gwatney was transported to University of Arkansas Medical Sciences where he remains in critical condition. Sharp was in the office at the time of the shooting along with 10 other staff members, including Gwatney. No other staff members were injured, Sharp said.

Gwatney, owner of three car dealerships, was elected as chairman of the state party in March 2007. He served 10 years in the Arkansas state Senate and was the finance chairman for Mike Beebe’s successful 2006 gubernatorial bid.

He is a superdelegate who endorsed Hillary Clinton for president, according to the Web site Sourcewatch.org.

“We are stunned and shaken by today’s shooting at the Arkansas Democratic Party where our good friend and fellow Democrat Bill Gwatney was critically wounded,” Hillary and Bill Clinton said in a joint statement issued Wednesday. “Bill is not only a strong chairman of Arkansas Democratic Party, but he is also a cherished friend and confidante. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill and his family today and we wish him a quick recovery.”

Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama also expressed his condolences.

“I was shocked and saddened to hear about the tragedy in Arkansas,” Obama said in a statement. “We’re all grateful for the quick action of law enforcement and quick thinking by Chairman Gwatneys staff, and Michelle and I are keeping him and his family in our prayers.”

Gwatney also earned a reputation for being an outspoken critic of former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee, coining the phrase, “Pinning Huckabee down on an issue is like nailing Jello to the wall.”

Huckabee reacted to news of the shooting Wednesday by releasing the following statement: “The senseless shooting at Democratic Party Headquarters in Little Rock today is a shocking and sobering reminder of just how depraved our world has become. All of our thoughts and prayers turn toward Bill Gwatney and his family today, while we await details on what happened and why.”
 

Doug Huffman

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Huckabee reacted to news of the shooting Wednesday by releasing the following statement:
“The senseless shooting at Democratic Party Headquarters in Little Rock today is a shocking and sobering reminder of just how depraved our world has become. All of our thoughts and prayers turn toward Bill Gwatney and his family today, while we await details on what happened and why.”
One of the 'whys' is that apparently no one was armed or defended the victim.
 

deepdiver

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Sonora Rebel wrote:
Dunno if he used a long gun or not tho... Still... this is the kind'a thing that feeds the anti's frenzy.



Whatever the case... 'Just on the radio... the shooter is dead.



Uh oh... just on the radio... the victim... the AR Dem Chairman is dead now too.
Indeed ....

Police shot and killed the suspect, so far identified only as a 51-year-old man, after a 30-mile car chase.

Police said they don’t yet know the motive for the shooting, however, they said moments after the shooting, he pointed a handgun at the building manager at the nearby Arkansas Baptist headquarters and reportedly said, “I lost my job.”

Hastings told reporters the gunman barged into the party’s office and asked to speak with Gwatney. When the secretary told him he could not meet with the chairman, the man went into Gwatney’s office and shot him several times with a handgun.

There were no “heated words” exchanged between Gwatney and the suspect in the moments before the shooting, Hastings said.

Staff members did not recognize the man. “We don’t have any indication that he knew chairman Gwatney,” Hastings said.
Nothing indicating it was the same guy in the news yet. Did find other weapons in his vehicle per the local newspaper, but haven't seen anything stating what they were. Fox News TV reported that he used a revolver to shoot Gwatney. Fox is mostly giving more detail than the local reporting I'm finding:

http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/08/13/arkansas-democratic-party-chairman-injured-in-shooting/
 

deepdiver

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Would have thought by now they would have an idea as to why:

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Aug15/0,4670,DemocraticPartyShooting,00.html

Excerpt:

Gwatney's killer, Timothy Dale Johnson of Searcy, was shot dead by police after a 30-mile chase into Grant County. Police investigating the shooting said they had so far not found any link between Johnson and Gwatney.

Police said Johnson, 50, owned at least 16 guns, had antidepressant pills and made out a will before shooting Gwatney. He had driven there more than 30 miles after losing his job at a Target store over some graffiti written on a store wall.

The name "Gwatney" and a telephone number were written on a Post-It note found in Johnson's home, police said. They wouldn't say whether the number matched the Democratic headquarters or a Gwatney-owned car dealership, if either.

"Those are things we're investigating. Right now we don't have any indication of motive as far as it deals with Mr. Gwatney," Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings said.

Until Wednesday morning, when he wrote profanity-laced graffiti on a store wall and was questioned by supervisors, Johnson had been a good employee in a stockroom, Target spokeswoman Brie Heath said Thursday.

"This was different behavior for him," Heath said. "The manager asked him if he needed to talk. At that point he turned in his badge and left the building."

His behavior was alarming enough Wednesday that the company had called police about it.

According to Conway police spokeswoman Sharen Carter, Target fired Johnson before 8 a.m. Wednesday because he had written on a wall. A manager had called police because of an "extremely irate" employee, Carter said. The graffiti, including "Target is run by dumb jocks and sorority w-----," had already been cleaned and Johnson had left by the time officers arrived.
 
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