Police say the suspect was NOT a Gwatney employee.
Does this mean he will only be able to vote a couple of times in Nov?
This is bad for everybody for several different reasons.
The Little Rock police said about 2:30 p.m. that the suspect, identified later as Timothy Dale Johnson of Seracy, was dead after being shot by authorities near Sheridan, around 40 miles south of the capital city.
Gwatney is survived by his wife Rebecca; two daughters from a prior marriage, Christian and Chase; and two stepchildren, Zachary and Emily.
Immediately after the shooting, police sources said they were working to confirm tentative information that the suspect was a former employee of a Gwatney car dealership. The Little Rock police said, however, at an afternoon news conference that the shooter, whom they did not identify, was NOT a Gwatney employee and, so far as they knew, never had been, contrary to some reports mentioned here earlier in the day. Hastings said they hoped to learn from family more about Johnson’s background.
According to one source, information gathered about Johnso indicated he’d exhibited erratic behavior at least once in the past. He reportedly made an irate visit to a dentist a year or so ago, but later returned to apologize.
Gwatney, 48, was taken from the scene in an ambulance and it was believed from the first that his condition was dire. Police spokesman Terry Hastings (shown at crime scene briefing shortly after the shooting) said that he’d been shot three times in the upper body. At 2 p.m., friends with the Gwatney family at the hospital told friends he was still in surgery. Friends say doctors were struggling to keep him stable because of the severity of the wounds.
His death was officially announced at a police news conference originally scheduled for 4 p.m. After delaying the news conference for about a half hour, police announced that Gwatney was pronounced dead at 3:59.
After the car ran into a field near the Winston Clinic, on the northern edge of Sheridan, there was an exchange of gunfire between police and the suspect. The man was alive when he was airlifted from the scene, but Lt. Terry Hastings of the LRPD said he died later at a hospital.
Multiple weapons were seized, including a revolver, rifle and semi-automatic weapon.
Though the suspect, Johnson, had a sister in Sheridan, police said they had no idea if his drive in that direction was related or only coincidental.
The Pulaski County Democratic Women will hold a prayer vigil for Gwatney at 6 p.m. Thursday on the Capitol steps. The public is welcome.
That’s too bad. I used to work with Gwatney’s dad and brother, Russell, at their Chevy dealership in Memphis. Hard-nosed businessmen, and totally decent people as far as I could tell.
More details emerging -
Timothy Dale Johnson lived in Searcy, and was employeed at the Target store in Conway - until he voluntarily quit this morning.
Johnson had been caught writing graffitti on the store walls, with misogynistic messages about sororities, and complaints about the width of the hallways. However, a Target spokesman said there was no trouble during his employment with the firm.
Prayers for the man and his family.
prayers for his family