More details are emerging of the fatal shooting of Aries Clark, 16, by Marion police Tuesday night outside a youth shelter.
Multiple accounts, including this from Fox 13 in Memphis, indicate Clark held a weapon when he was shot. A family member said he was shot after holding it in the air. Other sources say police tried for several minutes to get Clark to put the weapon down and fired when it was pointed at them. A family member describes the weapon as a BB gun, but it apparently has the appearance of
Cell phone videos apparently exist of the event, but their quality isn’t known. The State Police, which is handling the investigation, and Marion police have released few details.
Clark was attempting to return to the center, an alternative to a lockdown, where he’d been staying following a family dispute adjudicated in juvenile court. He’d walked away Sunday night. Police responded to a call that he was knocking on a locked door to get
Fox 13 quoted a cousin named Chris about Clark’s return to East Arkansas Youth Services:
The teen returned Tuesday. Chris said he came back to drop off sweatshirt but told FOX13 that was not all his cousin had.
“He held a BB gun in the air, and they just took him down on sight.”
Multiple police officers had guns drawn but, based on multiple videos posted by witnesses, all waited at least two minutes before firing.
“I don’t blame them because they were doing their job,” said Chris. “[But] they could’ve tried to understand, could’ve tried to see where his mind was at.”
Arkansas State Police and Marion Police Department would not confirm if Clark was holding any sort of weapon or if it was a BB gun.