Arrest made in shooting of Fort Smith woman

A Fort Smith woman was shot on Wednesday afternoon and the Fort Smith
Police arrested a 23-year old area man on Thursday for 1st degree
felony battery, felon in possession of a firearm and a parole
violation.

According to Sgt. Danel Grubbs of the FSPD, at 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday
officers responded to a local hospital where a nineteen-year-old woman
was being treated for a single gunshot wound. The victim had been
brought to the hospital by two men, 23-year-old Joel Antonio Ayala
and Devoun Patterson

The victim had been shot through the arm and the bullet had lodged in
her chest. She underwent emergency surgery and is currently in stable
but critical condition at the facility.

Both Ayala and Patterson were transported to the FSPD and questioned
in the incident. Both men initially told investigators the shooting
took place at Martin Luther King Park on North Greenwood Road but
later admitted the shooting actually took place at a residence at 3017
Hardie Avenue.

According to the preliminary investigation, the victim was inside a
bedroom at the house undergoing a tattoo procedure when Ayala began
handing a firearm. The firearm discharged, striking the victim in the
arm and continued into her chest.

At the end of the interviews, Ayala was placed under arrest on the
above-listed charges. The shooting was represented as being
accidental. Ayala is currently being held at the Sebastian County
Adult Detention Center without bond.

The firearm discharged in the incident has not been recovered and
police say the incident is still under investigation and they expect
additional arrests.