A Horrible Story from Little Rock. Six Year Old Appears to have Been Targeted According to Police
Gunmen aimed for 2 girls, say LR police
$1,000 reward is set for details on attack
By Andy Davis
Monday, December 31, 2007
LITTLE ROCK — Two or more gunmen appear to have been purposely targeting a 6-year-old girl and her 4-year-old sister when they fired more than 40 shots into a south Little Rock house early Saturday, a Little Rock police detective said Sunday.
Detective Tommy Hudson also said police believe the shooting, which left the older girl critically injured, may have been connected to a homicide and two other shootings in the area within the past month.
“It may have been they were trying to pay back somebody in the house,” Hudson said.
Hudson made his comments during a news conference, organized by the Rev. Benny Johnson, an anti-crime activist, in front of City Hall on Sunday afternoon.
Along with Johnson and four other ministers, Hudson pleaded for information from the public.
“We need more than what people are just hearing on the street,” Hudson said. “We be-lieve there are people who know who did this, and we need them to come forward.”
Through its Crime Stoppers program, the Little Rock Police Department is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, Hudson said. If a witness wants confidentiality, police “will do everything in our power to make sure the person’s name is not released,” he said.
The shooting occurred just before 5 a.m. Saturday at the small beige house at 2715 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Police believe two or more gunmen drove up in two or three cars, stood in a driveway and fired into the south side of the house just a few feet away.
Most of the shots went into a bedroom where 6-year-old Kamya Weathersby and her 4-year-old sister, Jasriae Vick, were sleeping.
The bullets broke out the bedroom’s south window and left seven holes in the glass that remained. Kamya’s bed was just inside the window. On Sunday, the bed was clearly visible through the window. The sheets had been removed and the mattress was stained with blood.
Kamya was struck seven times. Jasriae, who also had been sleeping in the room, was grazed by a bullet.
Kamya’s mother, Lashandria Washington, 26, and her boyfriend, Antoine Jones, 28, were asleep in a back bedroom, along with their 2-month-old daughter, Aries. They were unharmed.
Kamya was taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where Hudson said she has been declared brain-dead but is being kept alive so her organs can be harvested. A hospital spokesman declined to provide any further information.
The guns that were fired into the house were all semiautomatic, and at least one was an assault rifle, Hudson said. At least one handgun was also used, he said.
Although it was dark at the time of the shooting, the bedroom was illuminated by a television that had been left on, Hudson said. He said investigators alsohave other evidence indicating the gunmen knew who they were shooting at.
“We do believe the children were targeted,” he said.
On Sunday, a hospital employee turned away a reporter who attempted to speak with family members gathered in a thirdfloor waiting room, saying any interviews would have to be approved by the hospital. A hospital spokesman later said the family has requested privacy.
Hudson said police are exploring a possible link between Saturday’s shooting and three other shootings within the past month, including the Dec. 20 shooting death of Brent Pettus, 25, of 3026 S. Arch St. in the 3200 block of Center Street.
Pettus was found dead about 9:30 p.m. inside a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass with its engine running.
Another shooting occurred about 7:20 p.m. Dec. 5 in the 2600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, just a block north of where Saturday’s shooting occurred.
David Jones, 26, of 2517 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was struck in his lower back. Robert Lasley, 17, of 3117 Ringo St. was hit in the jaw, and Ishmel Osler, 25, of 3100 Ringo St. was hit in the lower leg. All of the men were taken to hospitals for their injuries. Hudson said he didn’t know whether Antoine Jones and David Jones are related.
The third shooting left one person injured, Hudson said, but he declined to give further details. It’s unclear whether drugs or gangs are involved in any of the shootings, he said.
Standing beside Hudson on the steps of City Hall on Sunday were Johnson; Bishop Charles E. Williams of the Covenant ofZion Cathedral Church; the Rev. Virgil Taylor and the Rev. Larry Gary, both of New Grace Baptist Church; and the Rev. Marcus Walker of First Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church.
Johnson wore a sweatshirt with his organization’s name, and the ministers held signs with messages such as “Stop the senseless slayings” and “Get a life, don’t take one.”
Johnson said people in predominately black neighborhoods, such as the one where the shooting occurred, are often reluctant to speak up, afraid they’ll be labeled a “snitch.”
“We’ve come to the place where we’re going to be victims in our own homes,” he said.
Anyone with information about the shooting may call the Crime Stoppers line at (501) 371-4636 or police detectives at (501) 371-4666.
$1,000 reward is set for details on attack
By Andy Davis
Monday, December 31, 2007
LITTLE ROCK — Two or more gunmen appear to have been purposely targeting a 6-year-old girl and her 4-year-old sister when they fired more than 40 shots into a south Little Rock house early Saturday, a Little Rock police detective said Sunday.
Detective Tommy Hudson also said police believe the shooting, which left the older girl critically injured, may have been connected to a homicide and two other shootings in the area within the past month.
“It may have been they were trying to pay back somebody in the house,” Hudson said.
Hudson made his comments during a news conference, organized by the Rev. Benny Johnson, an anti-crime activist, in front of City Hall on Sunday afternoon.
Along with Johnson and four other ministers, Hudson pleaded for information from the public.
“We need more than what people are just hearing on the street,” Hudson said. “We be-lieve there are people who know who did this, and we need them to come forward.”
Through its Crime Stoppers program, the Little Rock Police Department is offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest, Hudson said. If a witness wants confidentiality, police “will do everything in our power to make sure the person’s name is not released,” he said.
The shooting occurred just before 5 a.m. Saturday at the small beige house at 2715 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Police believe two or more gunmen drove up in two or three cars, stood in a driveway and fired into the south side of the house just a few feet away.
Most of the shots went into a bedroom where 6-year-old Kamya Weathersby and her 4-year-old sister, Jasriae Vick, were sleeping.
The bullets broke out the bedroom’s south window and left seven holes in the glass that remained. Kamya’s bed was just inside the window. On Sunday, the bed was clearly visible through the window. The sheets had been removed and the mattress was stained with blood.
Kamya was struck seven times. Jasriae, who also had been sleeping in the room, was grazed by a bullet.
Kamya’s mother, Lashandria Washington, 26, and her boyfriend, Antoine Jones, 28, were asleep in a back bedroom, along with their 2-month-old daughter, Aries. They were unharmed.
Kamya was taken to Arkansas Children’s Hospital, where Hudson said she has been declared brain-dead but is being kept alive so her organs can be harvested. A hospital spokesman declined to provide any further information.
The guns that were fired into the house were all semiautomatic, and at least one was an assault rifle, Hudson said. At least one handgun was also used, he said.
Although it was dark at the time of the shooting, the bedroom was illuminated by a television that had been left on, Hudson said. He said investigators alsohave other evidence indicating the gunmen knew who they were shooting at.
“We do believe the children were targeted,” he said.
On Sunday, a hospital employee turned away a reporter who attempted to speak with family members gathered in a thirdfloor waiting room, saying any interviews would have to be approved by the hospital. A hospital spokesman later said the family has requested privacy.
Hudson said police are exploring a possible link between Saturday’s shooting and three other shootings within the past month, including the Dec. 20 shooting death of Brent Pettus, 25, of 3026 S. Arch St. in the 3200 block of Center Street.
Pettus was found dead about 9:30 p.m. inside a 1976 Oldsmobile Cutlass with its engine running.
Another shooting occurred about 7:20 p.m. Dec. 5 in the 2600 block of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, just a block north of where Saturday’s shooting occurred.
David Jones, 26, of 2517 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive was struck in his lower back. Robert Lasley, 17, of 3117 Ringo St. was hit in the jaw, and Ishmel Osler, 25, of 3100 Ringo St. was hit in the lower leg. All of the men were taken to hospitals for their injuries. Hudson said he didn’t know whether Antoine Jones and David Jones are related.
The third shooting left one person injured, Hudson said, but he declined to give further details. It’s unclear whether drugs or gangs are involved in any of the shootings, he said.
Standing beside Hudson on the steps of City Hall on Sunday were Johnson; Bishop Charles E. Williams of the Covenant ofZion Cathedral Church; the Rev. Virgil Taylor and the Rev. Larry Gary, both of New Grace Baptist Church; and the Rev. Marcus Walker of First Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church.
Johnson wore a sweatshirt with his organization’s name, and the ministers held signs with messages such as “Stop the senseless slayings” and “Get a life, don’t take one.”
Johnson said people in predominately black neighborhoods, such as the one where the shooting occurred, are often reluctant to speak up, afraid they’ll be labeled a “snitch.”
“We’ve come to the place where we’re going to be victims in our own homes,” he said.
Anyone with information about the shooting may call the Crime Stoppers line at (501) 371-4636 or police detectives at (501) 371-4666.
posted by Steve Nawojczyk at
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