A Service of UA Little Rock
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

After Weekend Of Violence, Little Rock Mayor Says City Is Tackling Gun Violence

Police Car
KUAR News

January was wrapped up with a violent last day of the month in Little Rock. Three people were killed in the on Sunday in separate incidents.

Mayor Mark Stodola says he and Police Chief Kenton Buckner are doing everything they can to address the flare-up.

But, he said, a weekend of violence isn’t an indicator of a significant rise in crime. "I wish there was a way to stop speeding bullets," he said, adding he believes the city is doing everything it can.

"We have an entire department of the city called community programs, and we spend over $5.5 a year."  That money, he said, goes to youth programs and violence prevention sites. 

Lt. Steve McClanahan says 19-year-old Junius Pitts Jr. died Sunday after being shot while apparently sitting in his car at a red light near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus. No arrests have been announced.

McClanahan also says 27-year-old Eunice Lopez was robbed and fatally shot in southwest Little Rock shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday.

Police announced late Sunday that an 18-year-old suspected in her shooting had turned himself in. Police were still searching for a 15-year-old. In the third homicide, a person who wasn't immediately identified was fatally shot Sunday evening in east Little Rock.

There have been five murders in the city so far this year. There were 30 total homicides in 2015.

The Associated Press is one of the largest and most trusted sources of independent newsgathering, supplying a steady stream of news to its members, international subscribers and commercial customers. AP is neither privately owned nor government-funded; instead, it's a not-for-profit news cooperative owned by its American newspaper and broadcast members.
Sarah Whites-Koditschek is a former News Anchor/ Reporter for KUAR News and Arkansas Public Media.