Arkansas gunman kills 3, injures 4 in shooting spree

USPA News - A man recently released from a mental institution went on a shooting spree in the U.S. state of Arkansas on Saturday, killing three people and injuring four others before turning the gun on himself, police said Sunday. Several children were among the victims.

The incident began at approximately 1 p.m. local time on Saturday when officers were dispatched to a rural residence in Jonesboro after a call of persons shot, police spokesman Sgt. Doug Formon said. Officers soon discovered six gunshot victims, three of them young children, at the location. Survivors and witnesses at the scene identified 40-year-old Porfirio Hernandez as the sole gunman and were able to provide a description of the vehicle he was driving when he fled the scene. But within 20 minutes of the initial call, another call came in of a person shot dead about 3 miles (4.8 kilometers) from the first scene. "A witness described a vehicle matching the description of the suspect`s as having been at that location but had left the scene," Formon said. "As the investigation was developing, a witness advised that a car matching the description of the shooter`s had been located on a rural county road and Craighead County deputies were dispatched to that location." At the third location, Hernandez was found dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. Formon said two people, identified as 38-year-old father Crisanto Islas and 12-year-old Floza Davila, were killed at the first shooting scene. Four other people were injured, including 36-year-old mother Ayde Davila who was critically injured, 8-year-old Anquel Islas who was also critically injured, 10-year-old Brayam Davila who was said to be in a stable condition, and 43-year-old Augusten Hernandez who was in a critical condition. 31-year-old Richardo Lopez was killed at the second shooting site, which is a business near U.S. Route 49. The motive for the shooting spree was not immediately known, though Formon said Hernandez had recently been released from a mental health treatment facility. "It appears that the shooter was known to most of the victims and had at least some previous relationship, as a friend or acquaintance, with many of the victims and witnesses," he said. Formon said the firearm used in Saturday`s shooting was a .357 revolver, but it was not yet known how Hernandez acquired it. "Given the multiple crime scenes, language barriers encountered with witnesses and victims and the fact that victims were transported to multiple hospitals in different areas, even out of state, the case is unusually complex," the spokesman added. "It will take considerable time to sort out the details but, at this time, we are reasonably confident that the immediate threat is over."