Arkansas Democratic Chairman Shot, Killed

[mrmitchell]

(CNN) -- The chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party died Wednesday, hours after a shooting at the party's headquarters, according to a statement from former President Clinton and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
Police block off the streets surrounding the state Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday in Little Rock.

Police block off the streets surrounding the state Democratic Party headquarters Wednesday in Little Rock.
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Police would not identify the victim, but the statement gave his name as Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman Bill Gwatney.

The shooting suspect also died Wednesday afternoon after a high-speed chase ended in gunfire, police said.

The suspect had walked into the downtown headquarters, near the state Capitol building, about 11:50 a.m. and started firing, Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings said.

He said one person "working in the office" had been injured, but could not offer a possible motive.

The gunman walked into the office and said he was interested in volunteering, said Sam Higginbotham, a 17-year-old volunteer at the headquarters, The Associated Press reported.

"That was obviously a lie," Higginbotham said, the AP reported.

He said the man pushed his way past an employee to reach Gwatney's office, according to the AP.

A woman in a nearby business told KTHV that Gwatney's assistant came in and asked her to call police. Video Watch witnesses describe the incident »

"I thought maybe someone had gotten hit by a car," said Sarah Lee, who works at a florist's shop. "She was just shaking really bad." But then the woman said that Gwatney had been shot and that three shots had been fired, Lee said.

"She said she was waiting on the gentleman. He wanted to see the chairman. She tried to give him Democratic party stuff," Lee told KTHV. "Evidently, he walked on around her and went in the office and started shooting."

A vehicle description was provided to police, Hastings said, and officers found it. A chase involving Little Rock police, Arkansas State Police and the Grant County Sheriff's office ended about 20 miles south of Little Rock, where the suspect was shot and taken into custody, he said.

Police said the suspect drove into a ditch and around a set of spike strips in an attempt to evade police.

Authorities from Grant County said they used a "precision mobilization technique" to hit the vehicle from behind and ram it into another unit.

The man then got out of his vehicle and began shooting at officers, who returned fire.

In Sheridan, Arkansas, where the chase ended, a crowd gathered near the suspect's blue pickup as police cordoned off the area with yellow crime-scene tape. What appeared to be bullet holes could be seen in the truck's windshield.

Meanwhile, police would not say if the suspect was the same person who walked into a nearby Arkansas Baptist State Convention after the shooting with a gun, according to CNN affiliate KARK.

The man was "white as a sheet," convention official Dan Jordan said.

"I've heard he said something do to about losing a job. ... He didn't threaten anyone." The man left through the front door shortly afterward, he said.

Police would not confirm the victim's identity, but the Clintons released a statement earlier Wednesday that suggested Gwatney was involved.

"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," they said.

"Bill is not only a strong chairman of Arkansas' Democratic Party, but he is also a cherished friend and confidante. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bill and his family today and we wish him a quick recovery," they said.
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The Democratic National Committee also issued a statement on the incident Wednesday that identified Gwatney as the victim.

"This senseless tragedy comes as a shock to all of us," Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean said in a written statement. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chairman Gwatney and his family and we pray for his full and speedy recovery."

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/13/arkansas.shooting/index.html

[Imran Siddiqui]

[chequita guevara]

shame

[notyoueither]

What are the Clintons trying to hide, and to what lengths will they go?

[notyoueither]

It was a (bad) joke, people.

[Sprayber]

Re: Arkansas Democratic Chairman Shot, Killed

Originally posted by mrmitchell

When I first heard of it, the first thing that popped into my mind was that Dwayne Dobbins had lost his mind and went on a shooting rampage.

http://www.arkansasnews.com/archive/2008/07/20/News/347093.html

For the benefit of everyone not in Arkansas., Dobbins was a state legislator that had been forced out of his seat because of a plea agreement from a charge that he groped a 17 year old. His wife proceeded to run for his seat and win. She didn't file this time around and he did at the last minute. The state Dems refused to certify him as a candidate and it was Gwatney that lead that effort. The shooter though seemed to have no tie politics at all.

[Zkribbler]

With all the negative campaigning we get every two years, I'm surprised that this kind of thing doesn't happen more often. The hate peddlers often bring in a crop much larger than they ever imagined.

[Winston]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
The hate peddlers often bring in a crop much larger than they ever imagined.

So, would you suggest that every spiteful thing that was ever said on Apolyton about oh, the current administration, be retracted? It's a place to start..

[Zkribbler]

Originally posted by Winston
So, would you suggest that every spiteful thing that was ever said on Apolyton about oh, the current administration, be retracted? It's a place to start..

What? You mean like my post where I said you can't shoot President Bush because then you'd have President Chaney. You can't shoot Bush and Chaney because then you'd have President Pelosi. You can't shoot Bush, Chaney and Peloso because then you'd have President Reid. You can't shoot Bush, Chaney, Pelosi and Reid because then you'd have President Rice. You mean posts like that??

Yeah, comments like that would have been better left unsaid.

[Winston]

Yes, sure, because both you and I know that this is by far the worst thing that was ever posted on here about President Bush.

The fact of the matter is, you want to silence "hate peddlers" and I put it to you that what you suggest could turn out to be far more inclusive than any of us would like.

[Winston]

Plus you still need to convince me that hate peddlers - or indeed any kind of political opposition - had anything to do with this killing.

[Arrian]

All the man did was express surprise that, given the poisonous nature of our political discourse, this sort of thing isn't more common.

I don't know what the heck you're on about, Winston.

-Arrian

[Winston]

I was trying to point out that so-called hate peddling isn't exactly an unknown phenomenon here at Apolyton, not least as it's been routinely practiced against the Bush administration over the years.

Or were we just dissing the hate peddlers of a non-leftist nature? Well in that case, excuse me. You may now proceed to hate peddle me as you see fit.

It's a stupid thing to focus on, and in this case it's also totally undocumented.

And sarcasm doesn't always work too well, so possibly skip the second paragraph there, ok?

[mrmitchell]

Motive in Slaying of Democrat in Arkansas Remains a Mystery

By MIGUEL BUSTILLO, Los Angeles Times



The gunman who killed the chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party on Wednesday hours earlier had quit his job at Target and scrawled graffiti on store walls.

Timothy Dale Johnson, who was shot and killed by authorities after he entered the Arkansas Democratic Party headquarters in Little Rock and fatally wounded chairman Bill Gwatney, had quit his job as a night-shift worker at a Conway, Ark., Target that morning, the retailer confirmed.

Workers at the store had discovered profane messages on the wall that morning, according to the Conway Police Department, which was subsequently called to the scene.

Workers found other graffiti signed and dated by Johnson, as well as graffiti stating Target is run by "dumb jocks," according to Arkansas television station KTHV. Police said they could not confirm the exact messages Johnson had written because they had been wiped away by Target management.

Store managers confronted Johnson, and he stormed out of the store. Concerned that Johnson might return and harm them, management called police.

Target said in a statement that Johnson, 50, did not have a history of problems at the store, where he had worked since November 2006.

Johnson had written his victim's name on a Post-It note and had two sets of car keys from his victim's car dealership, but links between the men and a motive for the slaying remained a mystery to investigators Thursday.

Police said Johnson also owned at least 16 guns, had antidepressant pills and made out a will before shooting Gwatney.

The name "Gwatney" and a telephone number were written on a Post-It note found in Johnson's home, police said. They wouldn't say whether the number matched the Democratic headquarters or a Gwatney-owned car dealership, if either.

"Those are things we're investigating. Right now we don't have any indication of motive as far as it deals with Mr. Gwatney," Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings said

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Sprayber almost the same idea popped into my mind, but different politician. But it is for some reason harder for me to believe just a lone nut perpetrated this. Kinda scary, since I think we all know guys kinda like Johnson.

[EPW]

Originally posted by Zkribbler
You can't shoot Bush, Chaney and Peloso because then you'd have President Reid.

Byrd is actually 4th.