Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, the Arkansas Times and Little Rock Public Radio.

Welcome to Arkansas Week.

I'm Dawn Scott.

And this week a tough topic, but one necessary to discuss.

Fordyce, a south Arkansas town with just over 3000 residents, is grieving.

One week ago, a gunman opened fire at the town's only grocery store with witnesses saying he indiscriminately shot at customers and employees.

In total, four people were killed and at least ten, including two police officers, were wounded.

As we record this program, no motive has been released and police say the gunman had previously only had minor run ins with the law.

44 year old Travis Posey is being held without bond after pleading not guilty Tuesday to four counts of capital murder.

He also faces at least ten counts of attempted capital murder.

The Fordyce mayor, John McNichol, who's been in office for 14 years, joins us now.

Thank you for being here.

I know this is a tough time for you and your community.

And the first question I want to ask is, where were you when you learned that this shooting was happening?

I was at one of our restaurants at down that I usually go get a sandwich day.

I was waiting on them.

Takes me some day.

They always thank you, though, out there just to get my.

I know this is so tough.

I know you were there when you learned about the shooting and this was in close proximity to the Mad Butcher, the grocery store where this happened.

Yes, it was a couple of blocks.

Soon as I heard about it, I had one of my ex-officers get me come out the door and my step at the same boat was going home.

And it may later I would write, going to describe the scene if you can.

This was chaos, obviously, and I don't even know if you can accurately describe it.

I mean, I know you said in an article that I read you ran out to get there to help.

Yeah.

When I got there, I pulled up and I noticed my police officer.

Then the sheriff was on the ground.

You know, I kind of step back a little bit.

It once they notified that the man was on, I got out of when it parking lot.

It had gathered in our combat from when it was a parking lot holiday there.

And that was over.

Well, I don't think they would get this up and I would they don't that I'm pretty close.

Well, you know, this is a small community.

Everybody knows people.

Everybody knows each other and loves each other.

And I know you knew or at least you knew four of the people who were killed, as well as many of those who were injured, as well as the gunman.

I can't imagine what you're feeling right now.

I know I'm all alone, so I'm on my way to assist our friends with the.

Yes, I know everybody that being in a small town, you know, maybe in the back, in years, you get to know you.

You get to know you.

And everybody knew.

Everybody knows.

You know, I did read in one story you said, and I quote, It hurts to see people in my town hurt, adding that people depend on elected officials to do what we can in situations like this.

What can you do?

What did you do and how are you holding up?

Like I said, it.

It hurts it.

the see people in our town that I know that that has.

And it is it's just been I never dreamed being the mayor go to so.

No.

And sadly this is just a discussion in our nation now.

It happens and it's so tough to get our minds around it.

And, you know, your community is coming together.

200 people gathered for a vigil at the at the Mad Butcher parking lot this last Sunday night.

And you were there?

Yes.

Yes, ma'am, I was there.

And I was totally shocked or I was.

But it was so fantastic.

The whole border with the it and that Joe support, it really made me.

Yeah.

I mean, in in in some cases you see a tragedy and often really tragedies bring people together.

The horror of this is something that you all are dealing with collectively, really together.

And you as as the mayor are leading the charge.

And that is my next question.

How do you help move forward when you yourself are in grief?

It's tough.

I'm just trying to take it day by day.

I read on Facebook that some of the victims from there don't get it and that that I would look at one of the kids.

They really mean something.

I agree.

And when they are thick that hurt.

I want to make sure we can do that and help get over this.

It just day by day, hour by hour, the work.

Is this overwhelming?

How is your police force holding up?

They have they come in rail.

We've had some from the Arkansas State command and they and they have back it in yet.

But they they still know it's going to be a couple days or so.

We got to get the people back.

Well, I know counseling services have been offered.

I know the Fordyce Bank and Trust has a fund also to raise money to assist the families of the victims to cover.

You mentioned the funerals, the cost of the funerals.

And I'm curious if there are other ways that people or the state can help lift you up, help support you in any way.

The it has been outstanding, the support and help.

When I was on my way to the First Baptist Church was given through there.

The line went through a box to get food out that needed going on.

Since Monday started, I have a building over here in the city that they have gathered a lot of food and necessities that they need and been passing out and delivering it, trying to take care of the elderly, making sure that they are taking care of that.

Everybody gets getting taken care of.

Well, and part of the reason for that was for a time the mad butcher shut down.

Is it reopened?

And obviously it's so important that it reopens because it is a staple in your community, but it also is another step toward healing and moving forward.

It is about your head reopen.

We've had a make I think it was at a meeting where they are go, but it's going to take a little.

They don't open to the funerals of taken care of and and they are doing it.

Yeah.

Mayor, we have time for just one last question.

I know.

Events like this really change you.

I just am curious, your final thoughts as we as we wrap up our interview today.

I think that is going back and forth, back we going bring unity more into our town.

I see it already happening and I know everybody's concern and I just pray to God I don't due to anything in Fordyce.

Mayor John McNichol, our thoughts and our prayers are with you.

We appreciate you speaking on this.

I know how difficult it is.

And when we return, a licensed counselor joining us on how to deal with the fallout from a mass shooting such as this.

We'll be right back.

And welcome back.

With me now, licensed professional counselor Mariusz Tolbert with Superior Counseling in Pine Bluff.

Now the Dallas County Medical Center opened a mental health counseling center to assist people in their grief.

There.

And the State Department of Public Safety opened a unit in Fordyce to offer help to the officers, the witnesses and victims.

And Morris, you have not been directly a part of this scenario here in Fordyce, but as we see the mayor talking, the emotion is so raw, the process seeing such a horrific event is traumatic experience.

Where do we start?

So the first thing is, as you as you mentioned, the mayor exhibiting the raw emotions.

So we can only imagine what the people that were inside of the store experienced or the people that were on the parking lot that witness the aftermath was experiencing.

So the first thing that, you know, that that I would, you know, explain to them is, first of all, acknowledge the emotions that they're feeling.

And it's okay to feel the emotions that they're feeling and to definitely if you are directly impacted, if you're in the store, the mayor, if you witnessed the aftermath, go ahead and seek professional counseling.

Their counseling services set up, take advantage of those.

There are some people that feel like, you know, well, it'll get better.

I can get through this.

You know, it'll just take a day or two.

And that's not always the truth.

It's best to seek professional support.

Well, so for the mayor who came upon the scene and then you have four who have died, and then you have another ten who were injured, two of whom were police officers, and then all of their circles of influence and families and friends.

And I mean, so for those directly involved, obviously grief in the.

Sure.

That which isn't, as we know, linear.

I mean.

All right.

It comes and goes.

You think you're okay.

But really it's years before you can process something like this.

Absolutely.

And it does take years sometimes.

And that's even with mental health support.

And if it's not handled or processed correctly, it can lead to other mental health issues, things that people live with and, you know, maybe lead to severe depression.

So and as you mentioned, it's not just the people that were directly involved.

It's their family, it's their friends.

It's the you know, when they posted on social media, it's the people that read their post.

So all of those people are affected by this, Which leads me to, you know, being traumatically affected by things that you're not directly involved in.

And so it's important to recognize those symptoms as they happen.

How does a community deal with this?

So pull out from a wider perspective, maybe people who worked at the the Mad Butcher and they were aware of who the people were who were involved, but they're feeling like their community was attacked, essentially.

And as the mayor mentioned, there were some people he spoke to who were scared to come out, scared to come out of their house.

Absolutely, yes.

What do you do?

Yeah.

So that's that's absolutely.

And I think the mayor is is doing the right thing by just being present himself.

That shows that the community is coming back together and that it is a safe community.

But as you mentioned, the kids are now scared to come out of the house, which is a very serious symptom of of trauma.

And so, you know, I think it will be important for the community to have events that are safe, you know, that have security, that that the the the people there will know that it's a safe environment to attend.

Because, yeah, there there are people that even if they're not afraid to leave out of the house, they may be now afraid to go into the grocery store.

They will be afraid to go into any type, any type of retail store.

So just having those events that encourage people to come out and assure them that it's safe because that's the biggest thing, is that they're feeling unsafe right now.

Well, and it brings me to another point.

And I don't even know if the word protocol is right, but this is part of our landscape in America.

Sure.

Right now this happens anywhere and everywhere.

It can happen in a movie theater.

A school church served in the Watson Chapel.

Watson Chapel situation.

Right.

A church now a grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas.

How do you come back from it?

And so I don't want to use the word protocol per se.

Sure.

But it's happens enough to where what have other communities done and to to move forward.

Yeah.

So again, I think it's just a matter of of ensuring people that it's safe, maybe increasing the police presence or having escorts when necessary.

You know, if if a citizen calls and say, hey, look, I'm really afraid to go into the grocery store, do you have someone that can escort me and, you know, just, you know, having those types of services?

And I know that's very specific.

However, it's about reassuring people that it's safe because that's what they're afraid of.

Well, and also having a conversation about mental health and just having it almost normalized if you need to talk to someone.

Sure.

It's okay.

We're all feeling this way.

Absolutely.

Even those of us who don't live in Fordyce, I was impacted.

You were absolutely watching the mayor today may impact our viewers.

Absolutely.

Setting.

Yeah, absolutely.

And so that that's a very valid point.

And that, you know, if you're exposed even just, you know, watching the videos or listening to the stories, if you could possibly start to exhibit symptoms of maybe, you know, now I'm a little bit afraid to go into the grocery store in my local grocery store, and I don't live in Fordyce.

That's a symptom to be aware of.

So it does affect people that are not directly involved in this situation.

And it's important to reach out for mental health support.

It's as easy as, you know, if you're looking for a restaurant when you go out of town, what do you do?

You say Google, find the nearest restaurant near me.

And so you do the same thing for mental health counseling.

It's very that simple.

Well, and it's funny, you mentioned a restaurant.

What do I do if I'm hungry, I go eat.

And so if I'm feeling a certain way, you go talk to someone.

But some people don't aren't always aware that they may be feeling a certain way.

So what are some symptoms that you, you know, you might watch out for?

And that's a great point because a lot of people experience mental health symptoms and don't recognize them and they figure this is just a part of life.

So some of those symptoms, like I mentioned before, is I'm a little I get anxious when I go into a store.

I get anxious when I go into a crowd of people, my heart starts racing.

Maybe my body gets hot.

I feel an overwhelming need to get out of the building.

Those are all symptoms of mental health that can be resolved with the support of professional mental health counseling.

So a lot of it is just awareness.

Awareness, pay attention to your body.

It tells you everything, your thoughts, your thoughts, the intrusive thoughts.

One of the nightmares when you lay down to go to sleep and you close your eyes and all you can think about is that one specific situation or a string of situations that are all things that keep you woke and you can't stop those thoughts.

Those are intrusive thoughts, and those can also be resolved with the proper mental health support.

It's sort of a paradoxical because it's probably normal to experience such symptoms after being close to or part of a community or near a community that experiences something like this.

But they have to be addressed as well.

They have to be addressed absolutely.

Otherwise they can lead to more serious mental health issues, severe depression, you know, panic attacks, paranoia.

And so if they're not handled appropriately, they can get worse.

You know, you mentioned you'd been involved in other other situations where there was a student.

At what level that was shot.

Yes.

And so I know it takes so much time.

So what do we expect to see from four guys, like you mentioned, you know, unity or the mayor mentioned unity.

You mentioned you know, safe events for the public.

But how does a school or community or a church move from trauma to healing?

So I think that involves it's a combination of providing the mental health support, the emotional support, maybe, you know, if have the ministers, it's just mainly takes time and the church is stepping up, you know, welcome welcoming people into their facilities for just having that conversation, just talking about it, being able to express what you're experiencing, express what you saw.

Express what you're feeling, expressing how it changed you.

Having those types of events helps to bring the community back together and feel supported.

And, you know, it just takes time.

Yeah.

And I think to just in, in individual homes talking about it, even with children, prayer, things like that absolutely go a long way.

Sure.

Absolutely.

It's you you have prayer That's a coping skill that, you know, a lot of people rely on.

You have friends that you talk to, identify your your your support system and your support system, your parents, your your friends, your relatives, your minister, your prayer partner.

So all of the call on all of those people as you need to, because everybody is experiencing some level of of trauma or, you know, have some view of what happened.

And so they they would be welcome and open to have that conversation with you as well.

And one of the things that Mayor McNichol had mentioned was that the wider state and even nation has poured support on those tours.

And, you know, as he mentioned, they're getting through the funerals right now.

But then after the funerals, things tend to quiet down and focus turns elsewhere.

Right, Exactly.

Yeah.

So immediately after something like this happens, of course, you have all of the the money that comes in which is greatly needed, the funerals that have to happen, the families that need to be supported, which is greatly needed.

But then we have to look at the long range and like you said, how do you bring the community back together?

And that's where that's that's you can't just stop after, you know, two days after the event.

It takes a while to get back.

Final thoughts from you?

Maurice My final thought is if you are experiencing any type of mental health symptoms, don't ignore them.

Don't feel like they will just get better chances are they will actually get worse.

Reach out to mental health support.

It's simple as doing a simple search on your cell phone or the computer counselor near me.

And you know there are counselors and therapist that do telehealth so you don't have to leave your house if you don't want to.

In-person is, of course, better.

So if there's not someone close to you, you can always still reach out for help.

And there's someone there to help you.

All right.

Licensed professional counselor Maurice Talbot, we so appreciate you.

Thank you for your perspective.

Absolutely.

It is necessary.

We appreciate it.

Absolutely.

That wraps up Arkansas.

All week.

We are sending our thoughts to the city of Fordyce.

And we appreciate you being here with us as well.

I'm Don Scott.

We'll see you next time.

Support for Arkansas Week provided by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, The Arkansas Times and little Rock Public Radio.