Arkansas Police Killing: Officer Ambushed, Shot Outside Fayetteville Department

An Arkansas police officer on Saturday night was “ambushed and executed” at point-blank range outside the Fayetteville Police Department. Police Chief Mike Reynolds confirmed that Officer Stephen Carr, 27, was sitting in his patrol car when the assailant approached and shot him in the head.

Authorities claim that the alleged shooter, London Phillips, 35, was “looking for an officer to kill” when he pulled into the department parking lot at around 9:42 p.m.

Officers responded to the noise of gunshots from outside and confronted Phillips, shooting and killing him. The names of the two officers have not been revealed and pending a review of the incident by Reynolds, the two have been placed on administrative leave.

“All I know is that this was a cowardly act,” Reynolds said at a press conference. “I have no information that leads me to believe that he targeted this officer specifically. He was looking for an officer to kill.”

Phillips reportedly had a history of run-ins with local law enforcement. In December 2018, Fayetteville Police received a call that he was impersonating an officer. In April, police discovered that he had sold a handgun at a Fayetteville pawn shop.

According to Reynolds, Carr was a Texas native from a law enforcement family who had joined the Fayetteville department two and a half years ago.

“He was an all-American boy,” Reynolds said. “He came from a law enforcement family. He knew what the job was about and he just wanted to serve his community.”

The department has reached out to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for help in their investigation.