At least 25 people were shot in an Arkansas nightclub early Saturday morning and 3 others suffered unrelated injuries, police said.
A Memphis-based rapper who was performing Saturday at an Arkansas club where 25 people were shot was arrested this morning in connection to the incident, authorities said.
Ricky Hampton, aka Finese 2Tymes, and Kentrell Gwynn were arrested by the U. S. Marshals Service, the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, officials said.
Hampton had issued a statement on his Facebook page after the incident in Little Rock, sending “condolences” to the victims and thanking his fans who attended the concert.
“The violence is not for the club people, ” he wrote in the Facebook post. “We all come with [one] motive at the end of the day. And that’s to have fun. Not to be hurt.”
The rapper’s booking agent had said after the incident that Hampton, 25, had nothing to do with the shooting, according to ABC Little Rock affiliate KATV.
Two people were in critical condition after at least 25 people were shot at the nightclub early Saturday morning, in what police said may be gang-related.
The shooting at Power Ultra Lounge in the state’s capital city occurred around 2: 30 a.m. CT. Little Rock Police Chief Kenton Buckner said at a Saturday afternoon news conference that two of the injured are listed in critical condition. Three others suffered unrelated injuries.
The shooting ended a week of violence in Arkansas’ largest city where police had responded to a dozen drive-by shootings over the previous nine days.
“This does appear to be a continuation of disputes from some of our local groups, ” Buckner said later. “You’ve seen some of the things playing out in our streets that has resulted in drive-by shootings.”
The wounded, who range in age from 16 to 35 years old, were transported to various hospitals in the area.
Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola on Saturday confirmed an earlier report that all of the victims are expected to survive.
#UPDATE 28 injured in the W 6th Street Shooting, 25 from GSW’s and 3 from unrelated injuries. At this time, ALL are expected to survive.
There was no immediate information about suspects, but police said the incident did not appear to be an active shooter or connected to terrorism .
We do NOT believe this incident was an active shooter or terror related incident. It appears to have been a dispute at a concert.
Police said there was a dispute during a concert at the nightclub, and an exchange of gunfire occurred. Chief Buckner confirmed Saturday afternoon that multiple individuals fired shots. Buckner estimates that between 20 and 40 shots were fired, based on video evidence, and said that no arrests related to the incident have been made so far.
Mayor Stodola said Saturday that Power Ultra Lounge is being shut immediately. A representative for the landlord’s office Saturday night posted an eviction notice on a door to the club, stating that the club must move out of the property within three days “due to your failure to maintain the premises in a safe condition.”
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson also issued a statement Saturday, noting what he called Little Rock’s growing “crime problem.”
“Little Rock’s crime problem appears to be intensifying. Every few days it seems a high-profile shooting dominates the news, culminating with this morning’s event, ” Hutchinson said. “We are still gathering facts, but it is clear that we need to have a comprehensive enforcement strategy in place that helps take the violent threats off the streets. The state will participate and bring assets to the table to support local law enforcement efforts.”
ABC News’ Christopher Donato and Benjamin Stein contributed to this story, which was supplemented with Associated Press reporting.
