Police and neighbors are struggling to explain why a man described as a loner drove more than 30 miles to Arkansas’ Democratic Party headquarters and fatally shot its chairman hours after losing his job.
Police said Timothy Dale Johnson, 50, of Searcy, barged into Bill Gwatney’s office on Wednesday and shot him multiple times. There were no signs that Gwatney and Johnson, who was later shot dead by officers, knew each other.
A Target store in Conway fired Johnson early Wednesday because he had written graffiti on a wall, police said. A Target statement Thursday said Johnson “voluntarily quit” and did give any details.
Target said Johnson was an hourly employee at the Conway store, who had “no history of behavioral or performance problems at Target.”
“In the preceding days, he worked his regularly scheduled shifts without incident,” the company said in a statement.
Before noon Wednesday, Johnson was in Gwatney’s office in Little Rock with a handgun.
“He said he was interested in volunteering, but that was obviously a lie,” said Sam Higginbotham, a 17-year-old volunteer at the party’s headquarters.
After the shooting, Johnson sped away in a truck, stopped seven blocks away at the Arkansas State Baptist Convention and pointed a gun at the building’s manager, police said. When asked what was wrong, the gunman said “I lost my job,” according to Dan Jordan, the church group’s business manager.
Officers chased the suspect to Sheridan, 30 miles south of Little Rock. After avoiding spike strips and a roadblock, the suspect emerged from his truck and began shooting at deputies and state troopers, who returned fire. Johnson later died at a hospital. Police found two guns in the truck.
Little Rock police Lt. Terry Hastings didn’t say what the men discussed after Johnson entered Gwatney’s office but said it was not a heated exchange.
“They introduced themselves, and at that time he pulled out a handgun and shot Chairman Gwatney several times,” he said.
Police said they could find no criminal record for Johnson. “If he’s got a record, it’s minor,” Hastings said.
Because of his position in the state party, Gwatney was a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention this month in Denver. He declared his support for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton after the Arkansas primary in February but endorsed Barack Obama after Clinton dropped out of the presidential race.
Clinton and her husband, former President and former Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton, issued a statement calling Gwatney “not only a strong chairman of Arkansas’ Democratic Party, but … also a cherished friend and confidante.”
Obama said: “Michelle and I are heartbroken to hear about the tragic loss of Chairman Bill Gwatney. We’re praying for his family and friends and all who worked with him and loved him.”
Johnson lived alone and had never been married, said Helen Mowrer, who lived next door to the gunman. Mowrer said both of Johnson’s parents had lived at the house, but they died in the past 10 years.
