Arkansas Democratic party chairman assassinated by gunman
From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
- Clashes between herders and farmers in Nigeria kill thirty
- London court jails man for killing wife with remote control
- Payment pending; Canadian recording industry set for six billion penalties?
- Alleged tax-haven scheme linked to Canada's largest brokerage firm
- Two killed as Islamic militants storm Philippine jail
Bill Gwatney, chairman of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, died this afternoon at 3:59 pm CDT (UTC-5) after having been shot earlier this morning.
Image: Democratic Party of Arkansas.
"He [the gunman] came in and went into this office and started shooting," said police Lt. Terry Hastings, speaking to reporters outside the party headquarters.
The suspect is Tim Johnson, a white male, described by Gwatney's secretary as wearing "khaki pants, white shirt, silver-gray hair, late 40s." He reportedly walked into the party headquarters facilities in Little Rock, Arkansas, conversed with the Chairman's secretary, refused her offer of bumper stickers, and then walked past her saying he had to see the Chairman.
After the shooting, Johnson got into his blue Chevrolet pickup truck and led police on a 25-mile chase. The end result was the shooting of the suspect, who was airlifted to a hospital and eventually died of his wounds.
According to The New York Times, Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton issued a joint statement saying, "We are stunned and shaken by today's shooting at the Arkansas Democratic Party where our good friend and fellow Democrat Bill Gwatney was critically wounded ... Bill is not only a strong chairman of Arkansas' Democratic Party, but he is also a cherished friend and confidante."
Gwatney was also a car dealership owner and former state senator.
Sources
- "Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Shot At Party Headquarters Dies". KDSK, August 13, 2008
- "Bill Gwatney Has Died, Police Say". Arkansas Business, August 13, 2008
- Shaila Dewan "Gunman Kills Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman". The New York Times, August 13, 2008
 Share this: |
 |
This page is archived, and is no longer publicly editable.
Got a correction? Add the template {{editprotected}} to the talk page along with your corrections, and it will be brought to the attention of the administrators. Please note that due to our archival policy, we will not alter or update the content of articles that are archived, but will only accept requests to make grammatical and formatting corrections. Note that some listed sources or external links may no longer be available online due to age. |
