A small-town shopping trip turned deadly on Friday when gunfire erupted at the Mad Butcher store in Fordyce, Arkansas, claiming four lives and injuring nine others, including two police officers. The accused shooter, 44-year-old Travis Eugene Posey, was wounded and taken into custody following a shootout with police.
Among those killed were 23-year-old Callie Weems, a licensed practical nurse and mother to a 10-month-old daughter, Roy Sturgis, 50, and 63-year-old Shirley Kay Taylor. Ellen Shrum, 81, died on Saturday evening.
The shooting began around 11:30 a.m. on June 21, 2024, when Posey allegedly opened fire outside the grocery store, shattering the front windows before continuing his rampage inside. Terrified shoppers sought refuge wherever they could, including in the store’s freezers.
Katrina Doherty, who was shopping with her 18-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son when the shooting started, described the harrowing experience:
“It was like slow motion my daughter was like Mama, pinch me this can’t be real, and I was like, Baby, it’s real.”
Doherty and her children hid in a freezer with other shoppers and staff. “We were just sitting there and praying. I was in panic mode. My son about froze to death,” she recounted. “We tried to get him quiet, but he was saying he wanted his daddy. It felt like we were in there forever.”
The group remained trapped in the freezer, unable to call for help due to a lack of cell service. They only emerged once police declared it safe to do so, following a shootout with the gunman that left two officers wounded.
Helen Browning, mother of victim Callie Weems, shared her anguish upon learning of her daughter’s death. Initially believing Weems was safe at work in the hospital, Browning’s world shattered when she arrived at the scene:
“My best friend was standing right there and I said, Kristie, tell me my baby’s OK. and she said, I can’t,” Browning said. “And that’s when I just broke.”
Browning revealed she had known Posey since he was a child, adding to the bewilderment surrounding the incident. “I just want to know why Joey Posey woke up this morning and decided he needed to go ruin families’ lives,” she said.
The loss was compounded for Browning’s family, as she disclosed that her niece’s father was the third victim killed in the shooting.
Shirley Kay Taylor’s daughter, Angela Atchley, took to social media to share news of her mother’s death, describing Taylor as a “great woman” who “didn’t deserve this.”
The shooting has left the community of Fordyce, a small city in southeast Dallas County with a population of just 3,396 as of 2020, grappling with shock and grief. Local officials are working to set up counseling services for survivors and those affected by the tragedy.
Arkansas State Police reported that Posey, a trucker, is currently hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries sustained during the shootout with law enforcement. He is expected to be charged with three counts of capital murder, with additional charges likely to follow.
The motive for the shooting remains unclear. Law enforcement officials have stated there are no indications of extremism as a possible factor. Posey had previously been arrested in 2011 for having a gun at an army base, Fort Drum, in upstate New York.
Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders expressed gratitude for the “heroic actions” of law enforcement and first responders in the wake of the shooting. The White House confirmed that President Joe Biden has been briefed on the incident and is receiving ongoing updates.
The Mad Butcher grocery store, site of the shooting, released a statement expressing shock and sadness over the “senseless act of violence” and announced it will remain closed as the investigation continues.
As the community of Fordyce begins the difficult process of healing, questions linger about what drove Posey to allegedly commit such an act. The incident has reignited discussions about gun violence in Arkansas, which has some of the least restrictive gun laws in the United States.
