Fayetteville, Arkansas: Six Hospitalized After Shooting Near Dickson Street Early Sunday

Six people were taken to hospitals with gunshot wounds after a shooting early on Sunday, November 1, near Dickson Street in Fayetteville, Arkansas, police said. All six suffered injuries that were not considered life threatening, according to information reported by KNWA and FOX24. No arrests have been made, and police have not identified a suspect.

Where the shooting happened

The Fayetteville Police Department received a report of shots fired at about 1:41 a.m. on November 1 on West Avenue between Watson Street and Dickson Street. West Avenue was closed between Watson and Dickson during the first hours of the investigation, and police had not given a reopening time in the reports available on Sunday morning. The block sits in the Dickson Street entertainment district, one of the busiest nightlife areas in Fayetteville, just off the University of Arkansas campus.

What police say happened

The Associated Press, citing a police news release, reported that a preliminary investigation indicates an altercation preceded the shooting. That early finding is the only account police have given of what came before the gunfire. Investigators have not publicly established the full sequence, whether any of the injured people were targeted, or how many people took part. Police have not released the names or ages of the six people who were hurt.

The district on a Halloween night

The shooting came just hours after Halloween celebrations on Saturday night, October 31. Dickson Street is the best known entertainment district in Arkansas, a downtown strip lined with bars, restaurants and shops, home to the Walton Arts Center and set between the town square and the university campus. On a weekend night the street draws large crowds of students and visitors, and the West Avenue block where shots were reported sits inside that district, a short walk from campus.

What remains unknown

Police said the investigation remains ongoing. No suspect has been identified in the reports available on Sunday morning, no arrests have been announced, and police have not said what led to the altercation the preliminary investigation describes. The six people taken to hospitals are the confirmed count from police, through the Associated Press and through KNWA and FOX24. Their names, ages and exact conditions beyond the statement that the injuries were not considered life threatening have not been released.

The Fayetteville case was one of several shootings reported across the United States over the Halloween weekend, in cities that included Dallas, Birmingham, Newark in Delaware and Bloomington in Indiana. Police in Fayetteville have not linked their case to any other city, and no report available on Sunday morning suggested a connection.