Northwest Arkansas shootings leave two dead, inciting panic

A spate of seemingly unrelated shootings in NWA have left two dead, and police are still looking for at least one shooter.

Details: Romeo Woods, 21, was killed after being shot by another male outside a Bentonville apartment complex on Thursday, Aug. 25, just before noon. Hunter Kimbro, 33, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

• Separately, a fight between teens broke out at the Washington County Fair in Fayetteville on Friday night, resulting in one juvenile being shot twice. The teen’s wounds were not life-threatening, and police arrested a 16-year-old boy in connection to the crime after asking fairgoers to share video from the incident.
• Early Sunday morning, Luis Lemus, 19, was shot and killed at the Zabana night club in Springdale. Police are looking for the shooter.

Threat level: Arkansas had a record number of violent crimes in 2020, a rate of 672 per 100,000 residents.

• The state’s homicide rate was up 36% from 7.8 per 100,000 Arkansans in 2019 to 10.6 in 2020, according to FBI statistics.

Flashback: A series of weekend shootings earlier this month in Little Rock left at least three people dead.

What we’re watching: Gov. Asa Hutchinson expanded the Intensive Supervision Program in April, adding 10 officers focused on reducing violent crime in the state through high-risk parolee supervision and firearm and drug seizures.