Stranger shoots newlyweds, 2 others

The sheriff’s lieutenant said no one at the wedding had known the suspect before the shooting.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An apparent stranger shot the bride, groom and two other people at an outdoor wedding in rural Arkansas, then was arrested after being chased by outraged guests, a sheriff’s official said Sunday.

The wedding was just ending Saturday when the suspect approached with a 9 mm pistol and opened fire, Pope County sheriff’s Lt. Aaron DuVall said. No one else was hurt.

About 50 people, including children, had attended the ceremony along Piney Creek north of Dover at a spot the lieutenant said was popular for picnicking and swimming. Dover is 64 miles northwest of Little Rock.

The suspect “was not associated with the wedding at all,” DuVall said. “No one knew him.”

Police arrested Patrick Paul Duvall, 29, after a he was chased into a Russellville restaurant parking lot, said the sheriff’s lieutenant, who is not related to the suspect.

DuVall declined to identify the four people who were injured, but he said the bride, groom and a third victim remained in the hospital Sunday. One victim was treated and released.

Without the victims’ names, it wasn’t possible to get information from hospitals on the patients’ conditions.

Deputies say Duvall will remain in the Pope County jail at least until a bond hearing Wednesday morning. Jailers said Duvall an attorney had visited Duvall, but they declined to release the attorney’s name.

The sheriff’s lieutenant said Duvall faces four felony counts of first-degree battery and a felony charge of vehicle theft after the shooting.

A telephone number listed in Duvall’s name in Russellville could not be found Sunday night.