Muldrow Police Chief Tony Lewis said that at about 1 a.m. Saturday a 9-1-1 call came into the police department about shots fired at a home located in the 500 block of Pecan Street in Muldrow.
Muldrow Police Officer Mike Parkins answered the call and when he arrived, a man was in the front yard of the home. Lewis said the man, later identified as John Bryant, 34, of Schulter, allegedly made the statement that he had shot his cousin, who was in the house and needed an ambulance.
By that time, Officer Naaman Adcock arrived and secured Bryant, while Parkins went inside the home to find 32-year-old James Waters of Muldrow sitting on the sofa. Lewis said Waters and the sofa were covered in blood.
Waters, who was conscious but unable to communicate, had been shot twice - once in the upper chest and once in the thigh - with a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun, Lewis said.
Emergency personnel arrived and Waters was taken to Sparks Regional Medical Center in Fort Smith, Ark., where he was admitted in stable condition.
Lewis said police determined that seven rounds had been fired in the house, all in Waters' general direction. Most rounds went through the sofa and several walls of the home.
Two small children, ages 6 and 8, were in the home during the shooting, but Lewis said the children were in a different part of the house.
Bryant, who appeared to be heavily intoxicated at the time of the incident, was taken to the Muldrow city jail and then later booked into the county jail. He was booked on various charges, including shooting with intent to kill, possession of a firearm while under the influence of an intoxicant, and being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Lewis said his department is currently reviewing 9-1-1 tapes of the two calls the department received about the shooting, including one call from the victim and one from the suspect.
He said there was a possible altercation prior to the shooting. But Lewis emphasized, "We haven't confirmed that."
Lewis said they do know Bryant did in fact shoot Waters, but they don't know if it was in self-defense. He said they currently believe the shooting was intentional.
"We're still reviewing the tapes," he said.
The two children in the home were removed and held in a safe location until family members could pick them up.
Lewis noted that alcohol and drugs may have been involved in the shooting. He said additional evidence was seized at the scene that may result in additional charges unrelated to the shooting.
The weapon was recovered at the scene.
