Arkansas grocery store reopens in wake of mass shooting that left 4 dead

FORDYCE, Ark. -- The sounds that filled the Mad Butcher market store connected Tuesday — the beeping barcode scanners, the rattle of buying carts and currency registry drawers opening — were acquainted ones for customers and employees of the lone market store successful the tiny Arkansas municipality of Fordyce.

But this was not a mean time for the store, which reopened 11 days aft a shooter killed 4 people and injured 10 others successful Mad Butcher and its parking lot. Community leaders called Tuesday's reopening an important portion of the healing process for a municipality of 3,200 shocked by the wide shooting.

“It's much than a store,” said Dallas County Sheriff Mike Knoedel, who had responded to the shooting and was connected manus for the store's reopening. “It's a gathering place. Every clip I'm successful this store, I'm successful it 2 oregon 3 times a week, you're talking to neighbors. Everybody knows everybody."

The store's closure near Fordyce without a market store and fewer adjacent alternatives successful the aftermath of the shooting, prompting respective nutrient organisation sites to beryllium acceptable up passim the community. Though the municipality has a Walmart and discount retailers with immoderate nutrient options, the closest market stores oregon supermarkets are located successful neighboring cities astatine slightest fractional an hr away.

“This is Fordyce,” said Dick Rinehart, a mechanic who went to the store Tuesday to bargain ribs, breadstuff and lunchmeat. “Without this market store, wherever would we go?”

Employees and volunteers who were determination for the reopening handed customers shirts that work #WeAreFordyceStrong. A banner with the aforesaid connection has hung nether the store's greenish awning since the shooting occurred. Memorials to the victims of the shooting, including flowers and crosses, beryllium adjacent the store's parking lot.

Kent J. Broughton, a pastor successful Fordyce who was loading up his cart with watermelons, said the store's reopening restores a spot for galore successful the assemblage to link with household oregon friends.

“If you're bored and you request thing to do, if you privation to spot somebody, conscionable spell to the market store,” Broughton said. “You're going to tally into idiosyncratic you know, a person oregon relative oregon something, and you prime up from there.”

Police person not fixed a motive for the shooting. Travis Eugene Posey, 44, pleaded not guilty past week to 4 counts of superior execution and 10 counts of attempted superior execution and is being held successful a neighboring county’s jailhouse without bond. Posey was injured aft a shootout with constabulary officers who responded to the attack, authorities said.

Police person said Posey was equipped with a handgun and a shotgun, and aggregate gunshot victims were recovered successful the store and its parking lot. Authorities person said Posey did not look to person a idiosyncratic transportation to immoderate of the victims.

The store reopened the time aft the past of 4 funerals for the victims, who ranged successful property from 23 to 81. Mayor John MacNichol said helium ne'er would person imagined a wide shooting occurring successful his close-knit town, but said he's been arrogant of the community's response.

“I deliberation we're doing OK. I ain't saying we're doing great,” MacNichol said. “But I deliberation it's bringing the assemblage person unneurotic and uniting us.”