LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A man accused of fatally shooting a 15-year-old girl told investigators he fired his pistol because he wanted to scare a carload of teenagers he believed vandalized his vehicle, Little Rock police said Tuesday.
Police released an account of the shooting, which they said followed a series of pranks between groups of young people over the weekend. A police spokesman, Lt. Sidney Allen, said the man charged in the shooting is the father of a teenager who was targeted in the exchange of pranks.
Police said Willie Noble, 48, shot at the carload of teenagers after he found eggs, mayonnaise and toilet paper covering his car Friday night. He waited for the teens to return, then fired his gun, police said. Adrian Broadway died early Saturday morning from a gunshot wound to the head.
“Mr. Noble stated that he waited inside because he knew whoever vandalized his vehicle was going to come back. Mr. Noble stated that once they returned (about 45 minutes later), he fired his handgun to scare them,” according to the statement released by police Tuesday.
In the news release, police noted that Noble did not call police before or after the shooting. The driver of the car, a mid-size sedan with seven teens in it, fled to a convenience store where the youths called police. Officers found the driver side of the car pocked with bullet holes. Adrian was in the front passenger seat, and later died at a hospital.
Noble is charged with first-degree murder, five counts of aggravated assault and committing a terroristic act. He’s being held in the Pulaski County Jail on $1 million bond. Jail records didn’t indicate a pending court date or whether he has an attorney. Inmates generally get an attorney around the time they are arraigned.
The prosecutor’s office said Tuesday that the case file hadn’t yet been sent over by investigators.
The only other person injured was the driver, 18-year-old Dshone Nelson, who was treated for minor cuts from glass that was shattered by the bullets.
Others in the car were all juveniles so police didn’t release their names. They included three 15-year-olds, a 14-year-old and a 17-year-old.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor John Johnson said he expects it will take police at least a couple of weeks before they finish investigating and turn the file over to his office, which is customary in a homicide investigation.
Johnson said he couldn’t discuss specifics of the pending case.
