FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — According to the Fayetteville Police Department, two people were arrested following a shooting at the Walton Arts Center parking lot on West Dickson St. early Sunday, April 10, morning.
Police say the shooting happened around 2:15 a.m. According to a police report, officers were quick to arrive at the scene and found a male victim inside a vehicle with a gunshot wound to his chest. Witnesses identified Montavius Knighten, 24, and Edwin Swan, 28, as the two suspects who shot the victim.
Knighten and Swan were later found nearby with firearms on them and were arrested. Due to the time and location of the shooting, there were many witnesses in and around the parking lot, many coming out of the nearby closing bars, the report states.
Police say the victim's wound was "superficial" and he was treated at a nearby hospital and then released. The victim told Fayetteville Police he was with some friends at the Z330 bar earlier that night and that there had been a physical fight between his friend and another man. The victim said he and his friends left the bar and went back to the parking lot to his vehicle, and that's when two men approached them.
According to the report, the witness described a man who approached the victim's vehicle holding a firearm. Based on the suspect's demeanor the victim told police he believed the suspect had intentions to shoot him, so the victim pulled out his own gun and pulled the trigger, but the gun malfunctioned and did not fire.
According to the police report, the victim says the men then started shooting at him and his friends and that's when he took cover inside his vehicle. He told police he tried to leave the parking lot but was shot at as he tried to do so. The victim stated that he saw the man that whom his friend had gotten into a fight with earlier at the bar behind the suspects who allegedly shot at him.
According to the police report, Knighten was interviewed at the police department where he admitted to police to having shot the victim. Knighten told police he was following Swan when they were running towards the victim but was unaware of where they were running. Knighten says he saw the victim pointing a gun at them, so he also pulled out a firearm and shot.
Swan told Fayetteville Police he was running towards the victim with a group but veered away and ran towards his vehicle where he thought his girlfriend would be. He told police he pulled a firearm out of his waistband as he ran, kept it in hand for a few steps, and then put it back into his pocket. According to police, Swan says he was not involved in the earlier bar fight. Swan told police when he heard gunshots, he got down on the ground. Police say Swan's description was similar to the victim's description of the man approaching him with a firearm displayed.
Police say the magazine in the gun Knighten used was found with was empty. The magazine had a capacity of 17 bullets, which police say would have potentially allowed 18 bullets to be in the firearm if one was loaded in the chamber. Police say the magazine in Swan's gun was full which supported his statement of not having fired his gun.
According to Fayetteville Police, Swan was arrested for aggravated assault for reportedly approaching the victim with a firearm displayed in a manner that caused the victim to believe he was about to be shot. When Swan arrived at the Washington County Detention Center, police also found half of an Oxycodone pill on him, and he was also charged with Possession of a Schedule II Controlled Substance.
Police say Knighten was arrested for Battery in the First Degree and Terroristic Act for allegedly having shot the victim while he was inside a vehicle.
DOWNLOAD THE 5NEWS APP
DOWNLOAD FOR IPHONE HERE | DOWNLOAD FOR ANDROID HERE
HOW TO ADD THE 5NEWS APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for KFSM in the Channel Store.
For Fire TV, search for "KFSM" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
To report a typo or grammatical error, please email KFSMDigitalTeam@tegna.com.