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Fordyce, AR – A quiet Friday morning at the Mad Butcher, Fordyce’s only grocery store, was shattered by gunfire yesterday. In a horrific event, a lone gunman opened fire, leaving four dead and nine injured, including two law enforcement officers.
The chaos erupted around 11:38 am. According to witnesses, terrified shoppers scrambled for cover as shots rang out. Some shoppers initially thought it was the sound of fireworks until glass started shattering, and people, dropping. At least 10 employees and customers found refuge in the store’s freezers, the only locked rooms readily available.
Katrina Doherty had been shopping for dinner with her daughter and son when the shots rang out. They managed to follow an employee into the freezer to wait out the nightmare. “We were just sitting there and praying. I was in panic mode. My son about froze to death. We tried to get him quiet, but he was saying he wanted his daddy. It felt like we were in there forever. We were in there maybe 15 minutes. I was asking the Lord to protect over everybody. I was just praying. The other lady, she was praying. She was crying.”
Two sisters Amiya and Ashiya Doherty, were inside of their family’s SUV when the shooting started, and ducked down for cover as bullets riddled the scene around them. Amiya said she grabbed her sister and they hid getting down low, “He shot at my mother’s car and hit the tire and pssshshsh.”
“I heard the pops and just ran,” said Sarah Jones, a shaken shopper. “I didn’t know where to go, and then I saw the freezer door. There were probably ten of us crammed in there, in the dark, just holding our breath.”
Roderick Rogers, a Fordyce native and pastor at Grace United Church said, “I saw people just lying in the parking lot,” he said. “There were shots going on everywhere.”
A woman recording video as the shooting took place from across Highway 79, can be heard saying, “They done went into the Mad Butcher shooting … ”
The shooter had what was described as a “long gun”, and started the massacre in the parking lot before going inside the Mad Butcher and opening fire. As police arrived, he engaged in a shoot-out with officers and was wounded.
The gunman, identified as 44-year-old Travis Posey of New Edinburg, was apprehended and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. He is facing multiple charges, including capital murder.
“Our hearts ache for the families who lost loved ones in this senseless tragedy,” said Arkansas State Police Colonel Mike Hagar. “We are incredibly grateful for the quick response of our officers and the bravery of those who helped others during this horrific event.”
The civilians killed in the shooting were identified by police as: 62-year-old Shirley Kay Taylor, 23-year-old Callie Weems, 50-year-old Roy Sturgis and 81-year-old Ellen Shrum. A fourth victim died Saturday. Families have no answers for why their loved ones are gone after Posey’s shooting spree. No motive has been determined as of yet.
The two injured officers are expected to make a full recovery. Posey will be charged with four counts of capital murder, with additional charges pending, according to the Arkansas State Police news release. He will appear in court on Monday,
The Mad Butcher remains closed as authorities investigate the motive behind the shooting. This small town grapples with the trauma of the event, forever marked by the day shoppers sought refuge not in aisles filled with food, but in the heart of a freezer.
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