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Arkansas 3-Year-Old Acen King Fatally Shot In Road Rage Incident, Is Second Local Toddler Victim Since November [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 14:51 PST, Dec 19, 2016

Tragedy unfolded in Little Rock, Arkansas, on Saturday when 3-year-old Acen King was fatally shot in a road rage incident. The Arkansas toddler and a 1-year-old sibling had been out Christmas shopping with their Grandmother when the horrific incident took place. As Fox 13 Now, reports, the grandmother of Arkansas 3-year-old Acen King had reportedly stopped at a stop sign and failed to move fast enough for the driver behind her, who began to honk. Acen King’s grandmother, 47-year-old Kim King-Macon, reportedly honked back.

It was then that, police claim, the driver of the other car got out and fired several rounds into the vehicle occupied by little Acen, his grandmother and younger sibling. While neither Acen King’s grandmother or the 1-year-old were struck, at least one of the bullets hit the Arkansas 3-year-old. His grandmother reportedly drove to a safer location, a nearby JC Penny store, and attempted to remove the toddler from the vehicle. It was only then that she realized that Acen had been hit, and she called 911 for help just before 6:30 p.m.

Unfortunately, when first responders arrived on the scene, they discovered that the Arkansas 3-year-old had been fatally wounded in the senseless road rage shooting. Acen King was transported to Arkansas Children’s Hospital and pronounced dead on arrival.

So far, investigators have not named a suspect in the fatal shooting, nor have they released a detailed description of the person believed to have carried out the crime. The shooter has been described as being a tall black male driving an older black Chevrolet Impala, reports FOX 8.

Even so, investigators into the murder of 3-year-old Acen King are offering a substantial reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the case. Fox News reported that the reward in the Acen King slaying is $20,000. According to ABC News, the combined federal and local reward in the murder of the Arkansas 3-year-old is actually $40,000 if the information leads to a conviction in the case.

Little Rock Police Department Chief Kenton Buckner stated that investigators have no reason to believe that the shooting of Arkansas 3-year-old Acen King was anything other than a random crime, and the family is not suspected of any wrongdoing in the case.

“I certainly have no information to say that anyone in this family has done anything to cost this young person’s life. But this is about as frustrated as you can be as a public safety official or just a plain citizen.”

The road rage shooting death of Acen King marks the 40th homicide of 2016 in the city, according to the Little Rock Police Department.

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Even more disturbing, the shooting death of 3-year-old Acen King (labeled a “tragedy” by investigators) is the second road rage-related shooting death of a toddler since November.

On November 22, according to Arkansas Online, a 2-year-old was riding in a car with her mother, mother’s cousin, and several other children. That’s when an unknown assailant (or assailants) drove by their vehicle and opened fire. As in the case of Arkansas 3-year-old Acen King, nobody got a good look at the shooter or the car that the bullets came from. Following the reported road rage-related shooting, the 2-year-old’s mother drove to a local hospital for help. There, the toddler, identified only as a female, was reported dead on arrival at approximately 9:00 p.m.

The suspect in that case is still unidentified and at large, and it is unknown whether the November case is related to the shooting death of Acen King on Saturday.

While a suspect hasn’t been named in the murder of little Acen, Little Rock police say they have received substantive tips and are investigating leads in the case.

Anyone with any information about the road rage shooting is asked to call (501) 371-4829, (501) 371-4363 or (501) 340-8477 to help bring the shooter of Arkansas 3-year-old Acen King to justice.

[Featured Image by TheaDesign/Shutterstock]

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