Early morning shooting leaves neighborhood on edge

TRUMANN, Ark. (KAIT) - Homeowners in town are a little worried after an early Monday morning shooting that killed one person.

According to Trumann police, Earl Wayne Dorris II unlawfully entered the home with a firearm, intending to harm the residents. Dorris was shot by a resident and died at the scene.

It all happened on Whitlatch Avenue, where residents say the area has become much more unsafe in recent years.

“We are all in bed and you just don’t know, you could be next,” one woman said.

Trumann police understand the concern, but Captain Gary Henry said it was not random.

“It was not necessarily a home invasion, it was an isolated incident and the suspect had entered the house and got shot and killed,” Henry explained.

While the department says the incident is isolated, residents stress there is a bad feeling about their neighborhood.

“All around the road, you’ll find needles on the road,” one woman, who wanted to remain anonymous, said. “People be walking up and down our street at 3 a.m.”

She has been trying to move for some time and said she doesn’t know how safe her family is.

Capt. Henry said whenever there is a shots fired call, it is out of the ordinary and he wants everyone to know that this was not random and that there is no reason to worry.

“These subjects all knew each other, so it wasn’t something random where someone came into town and picked this house out to burglarize or terrorize,” Henry said.

Trumann police said the investigation continues; no arrests have been made, nor have charges been filed.

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