LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — At the Little Rock board of directors meeting held on Tuesday night, Little Rock Police Assistant Chief Andre Dyer explained what led up to the multiple shootings that happened on Sunday night.
Assistant Chief Dyer said that LRPD was aware of the possibility of a "sunday funday," a term used to describe a caravanning event.
He explained that multiple officers were off that day and there was not enough patrol on the streets— like they originally scheduled.
"It was a nice day. Officers calling in sick or family things and stuff like that. So, the things we had in place for that weekend was not enough," said Dyer.
That evening, police got the call of the first shooting that happened near Asher and University where a woman said her car was hit by multiple bullets. She also had a child in the car with her.
Moments later, there was another shooting. This time it was near Asher and Adams Street. Seven people were shot in the incident and two of them died.
The two victims were 20-year-old Malachi Carey and 20-year-old Jailene Washington.
"There could have been a lot of lives taken out there on that night. Thank God the number of lives that were taken was limited, and I'm not selling that short," Dyer explained.
He also said that as it gets warmer, they are adding additional patrols during the weekends. Though he did not discuss any strategies or target areas.