A man was taken into custody at gunpoint Thursday morning after shots were reported in the parking lot of the Walmart Supercenter on East Highland Drive in Jonesboro, Arkansas, according to the Jonesboro Police Department. Police said no injuries resulted from the gunfire, though one vehicle was reportedly struck.
The first call reporting shots fired came in at 10:53 a.m., with police ultimately fielding six calls about the incident, Jonesboro Police spokesperson Sally Smith said, as NEA Report first reported. Video from the scene shows officers taking the man into custody at gunpoint. He was being taken to an area hospital for evaluation before booking, Smith said, and the man's identity had not been released as of Thursday.
Smith said there may be property damage from the incident, though the full extent had not been detailed. The shooting occurred shortly before 11 a.m. at the East Highland Drive Walmart.
A Store With a History of Trouble
Thursday's gunfire adds to a string of security incidents at the same Highland Drive location. In September 2024, a 64-year-old man was arrested and charged with first-degree terroristic threatening after calling the store and threatening to open fire on shoppers, according to Mix 106.3; the suspect reportedly admitted to police that he made the threats.
Gunfire isn't new to the store's parking lot, either. In June 2024, officers responded there after a 27-year-old man accidentally shot himself in the leg inside a parked vehicle that also carried two teenagers, requiring police to apply a tourniquet before he was taken to a hospital, per Jonesboro Right Now.
Firearm Law
Smith said the man was being taken to an area hospital for evaluation before booking. If investigators determine a firearm was recklessly discharged from a vehicle in a way that created a substantial risk of physical injury to another person or property damage to a home, residence, or other occupiable structure, Arkansas Code § 5-74-107 classifies that conduct as a Class B felony, Unlawful Discharge of a Firearm from a Vehicle in the Second Degree, according to FindLaw.
Chief Rick Elliott has led the Jonesboro Police Department since September 2014.
Jonesboro's Growth
The incident lands in a city that has seen its population swell to an estimated 83,296 in 2025, up from 78,579 in the 2020 Census, according to Data Commons. Jonesboro remains the economic and retail hub for Northeast Arkansas.
No further details on the man's identity, motive, or formal charges had been released as of Thursday. Court filings in Craighead County District Court are expected to clarify any booking charges once his medical evaluation is complete.
