On Saturday, June 16th, ranger Jeff Johnson was listening to the Hot Springs police radio when he heard a report of a shooting in progress near the ranger station. Johnson and numerous Hot Springs PD officers arrived at the location shortly thereafter. The first officer on scene advised that shots were still being fired, so Johnson and backup units blocked public access to the area and secured the scene. Eyewitnesses reported that a man had been driving west on Malvern Avenue near the downtown area when he rammed his pickup into the rear of his estranged wife’s BMW, forcing the BMW into another sedan. He then got out of the pickup with a shotgun, walked to the car and shot his wife and her female companion at pointblank range. He then returned to the truck, put the shotgun on the seat, removed a handgun, walked back to the BMW and fires several rounds at his wife. He then sat down on the sidewalk and smoked a cigarette while waiting for officers to arrive and take him into custody. He was arrested without incident. The man’s wife died from her injuries, but her companion is in stable condition with severe wounds. The incident took place about a half mile from the park’s historic Bath House Row district.
