Crime & Safety
Little Rock Nightclub Shooting: Gunman Who Shot First Nabbed, Police Say
Twenty-five people were hurt by the gunfire and three more suffered other injuries while trying to escape the club.
LITTLE ROCK, AR — A 19-year-old who fired the initial shots as rapper Finese2Tymes was performing at the Power Ultra Lounge in Little Rock three months ago — resulting in a mass shootout that left 28 people hurt — was arrested, police said Wednesday. Tyler Jackson, who was in the crowd, fired off nine shots police Capt. Russell King said Wednesday.
"He's a kid; 19 years old," King said after a news conference at police headquarters.
Jackson faces three counts of second-degree battery and six aggravated assault charges. Others around him later fired their weapons, King said. (For more information on the Power Ultra Lounge shooting and other Little Rock stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
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Twenty-five people were hurt by the gunfire and three more suffered other injuries while trying to escape the club.
Kentrell Gwynn, a bodyguard for Finese2Tymes — who's real name is Ricky Hampton — previously was charged with 10 counts of aggravated assault. Hampton faces unrelated federal charges tied to an earlier shooting at a different Arkansas nightclub.
Find out what's happening in Little Rockfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
King and others wouldn't say who Jackson may have been shooting at. Officers have watched video from inside the club as part of their investigation. They wouldn't explain how they identified Jackson as the first shooter.
"We still have an active ongoing investigation," Chief Kenton Buckner said.
Pulaski County jail records showed that Jackson was booked late Wednesday, but no bond amounts were listed for the nine counts he faces. There was no record of whether he has a lawyer.
After the shooting, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formed a task force of local, state and federal agencies, saying a "looming cloud of violence" would harm the entire state, not just Little Rock.
The city's mayor, Mark Stodola, said some victims are still recovering from "this dastardly act."
"We want to thank God that no one was killed," he said.
By KELLY P. KISSEL, Associated Press
Photo credit: Kelly P. Kissel/Associated Press