Local
Mansfield veteran James Parker killed in Little Rock gas station shooting
James Parker, 74, was killed Oct. 15 after gunfire broke out between two suspects at a Little Rock gas station while he and his wife were visiting Arkansas. His Arlington church remembers him as a quiet, generous veteran who helped others, including fellow veterans seeking benefits.
James Parker, a 74-year-old Army veteran from Mansfield, was killed Oct. 15 in a shooting at a Little Rock gas station while visiting Arkansas with his wife, Darlene, for a homecoming celebration at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, his alma mater.
Police said Parker was caught in gunfire between two suspects at a station at 6201 Colonel Glenn Road. A second person also died and several others were injured.
Parker’s wife had gone to a pharmacy across the street to pick up a prescription. When he did not return and stopped answering his phone, she went toward police vehicles and told officers she feared he had been hurt, according to Maurice Pugh, senior pastor of New Life Fellowship in Arlington.
Parker and Darlene had attended church the night before leaving, where they prayed for safe travels, Pugh said. “He asked for traveling grace as they were heading to Arkansas,” the pastor recalled.
Pugh said Parker, a member of the church’s production ministry, worked behind the scenes to help services run smoothly. He also helped fellow veterans access benefits they had earned.
“He would go out of his way to help anybody,” Pugh said, relaying what Darlene wanted people to remember about her husband. The couple had been married for 44 years.
Authorities arrested Kevontae Wilburn, 19, and Braxton Flowers, 25. Wilburn faces a capital murder charge; Flowers faces charges of capital murder and first-degree murder.
A memorial service for Parker is scheduled for Oct. 31 in Little Rock. A Dallas-area memorial is planned for a later date.