Rash of separate shootings leaves 4 wounded in Camden

(Stock image)
(Stock image)

A rash of shootings in which four individuals were shot in three incidents in Camden were unrelated, according to Camden Police Chief Bo Woody.

Chief Woody also dispelled rumors that the shootings were part of a triple homicide.

Michael Burks, 41, of Camden has been charged with possession of instrument of a crime, obstructing governmental operations, tampering with physical evidence and first degree battery.

Burks is currently housed in Ouachita County Detention Center.

Chief Woody said the call came in Friday after a female victim was reported to have been assaulted.

"She was beat up with a hammer and then shot," Chief Woody said.

A second shooting occurred on Saturday when an altercation occurred between two males and resulted in both men shooting each other.

"There was another shooting last night, a second. This is the whole separate incident... where two men got into it and shot each other, kind of like the old west. One shot one in the leg, another one shot the other one in the arm," Woody said.

As of Sunday, neither man has been charged with a crime and both are in Ouachita County Medical Center.

Finally, a third shooting occurred Sunday morning.

"Early this morning, I got a call that there was a group of juveniles at Fort Sutherland park," Woody said, "There was a group of juveniles out there, and apparently one of them was playing with a gun and accidentally shot a 16-year-old girl in the shoulder."

The State of Arkansas website states that Fort Sutherland is privately owned and inaccessible to the public.

This shooting is part of an emerging trend of youth violence, according to Woody.

Camden has had individuals under the age of 18 involved in murder cases in the last few months, with four juveniles suspected to have been involved in the shooting death of Andretti Austin, 24, and three juveniles arrested in a February 22 shooting that left Quintin Miller, 17, dead.

"Since COVID, we have had a tremendous increase in serious juvenile crime," he said.

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