Monday, May 26, 2008

Bride And Groom Shot During Arkansas Wedding Ceremony

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — 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, and authorities are hampered by the fact that of the 184,564 residents of Little Rock, 84% of the population is named DuVall, or a variation of Clinton. Hospital spokesperson Clinton DuVall said that Little Rock General has put out an emergency bulletin asking for blood donors but declined to identify the blood needed, offering that "Most everybody here can give blood to one another so we don't even bother typing 'em."

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