A 17-year-old was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound inside a home in Prescott, Arkansas, and a second 17-year-old now sits in the Nevada County jail on a negligent homicide charge. Officers responded to a 911 call reporting a shooting in the 900 block of Rosston Road around 11 a.m. Tuesday, and the case remains under investigation by state police days later.
According to KATV, Prescott Police Department officers located the teen deceased inside the residence from an apparent gunshot wound after arriving on scene. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the shooting took place at a home roughly four miles southeast of Interstate 30 in south Prescott, and that Arkansas State Police issued a news release on the matter Friday.
A second 17-year-old was taken into custody in connection with the shooting and is being held on a negligent homicide charge, per the Magnolia Reporter's account of the case. The suspect was being held in the Nevada County jail. Neither teenager has been identified by name; the station's report notes that authorities have withheld the youths' names due to their age.
State Police Take Over the Investigation
At the request of the Prescott Police Department, the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division is investigating the shooting, the same report states. As of Friday's update, the investigation remained ongoing, with no additional information being released at that time, per the earlier account.
KATV reported that the deceased would be transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory to determine the cause and manner of death. The Democrat-Gazette similarly reported that the body would be sent to the state crime laboratory for an autopsy, citing the state police release.
What the Negligent Homicide Charge Means
Under Arkansas law, a person commits negligent homicide if they negligently cause another person's death, according to Act 2128 of 2005 passed by the Arkansas General Assembly. The act classifies the offense as a Class A misdemeanor. Its “not constituting murder or manslaughter” language appears in subsection (a), which addresses specified vehicle-related circumstances, but not in subsection (b), the general negligent-homicide provision.
No further details about how the shooting occurred have been released, and investigators have not said whether the death resulted from an accidental discharge or some other circumstance. The case remains active, with state police continuing to work the investigation at the Prescott Police Department's request.
