Man, woman killed after West Memphis officer-involved shooting

WEST MEMPHIS, AR (WMC) - A man and woman are dead after a shooting involving West Memphis police Wednesday night.

West Memphis police said the officer-involved shooting stemmed from a traffic stop.

Police said the officers fired their weapons after the driver failed to stop, then began ramming police vehicles.

Thursday, the neighborhood was quiet once more with just the sound of cars coming to a stop at the intersection of North 18th Street and McAuley Drive.

Only remnants of crime scene tape remain after a sea of blue lights flooded the intersection the Wednesday night.

“It happened fast,” said neighbor Tara Jones. “There was a lot of commotion. So, by the time I heard the police at the corner they kept telling him to ‘stand down, stand down,’ and next thing I know shots just came out of nowhere.”

West Memphis police said at about 9:30 p.m., officers attempted to stop a driver.

A man and a woman were inside the car that refused to stop according to investigators, and police said the driver rammed several police vehicles.

“Only thing I know they was determined to stop whatever thing was going on,” Jones said.

Another neighbor said West Memphis officers set up a barricade inside the neighborhood when the two crashed crash their car at the intersection.

The neighbor said an officer tried to approach the car, screaming "stop."

That's when he said the driver ran over the officer's legs while trying to get away, and police at the scene opened fire.

Those shots were steps away from Jones' front yard.

“When I looked out the window I saw them trying to resuscitate that guy,” Jones said. “And then when I saw them putting the yellow tape up I knew right then I didn’t want to see no more.”

“Just heard a lot of shots,” said neighbor JaQurious Jefferson. “A whole lot of shots coming from all types of directions.”

Sources say the car was taken in a carjacking from the East Coast. The car did not have a license plate on it. In the space for the plate was the name of the dealership.

That car is now locked up in the sally port at the Crittenden County Sheriff’s Office.

The man and woman were pronounced dead at the scene Wednesday night. The officer has since been treated and released from the hospital.

Arkansas State Police is conducting its own investigation.

Investigators have yet to release the identities of the two people inside the car, along with the name of the injured officer or details about where and how this incident started.

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