William A. Gwatney (August 26, 1959 – August 13, 2008) was an American politician who served as the State Chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas.[3] He had previously served as a State Senator for ten years and as the financial chair of Mike Beebe's campaign for Governor of Arkansas in 2006. Gwatney was selected as a superdelegate at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, but was assassinated before the convention.[4]
Death
On August 13, 2008, Gwatney was killed by Timothy Dale Johnson,[5][6] who entered Democratic Party headquarters in Little Rock, Arkansas and shot Gwatney three times.[7] Gwatney was taken to a hospital, but died later that day.[8]
The gunman had said he wanted to speak with Gwatney about volunteering, but sidestepped his assistant when she said he was busy.[9] After the shooting, the gunman fled the scene in his truck and led police on a 30-mile (48 km) chase out of Little Rock.[9] Johnson was killed by police after a PIT maneuver forced him off the road into a field near Sheridan.[7][10] No motive was discovered, except Johnson quitting his job at a Target retail store earlier that day.[1][2]
Honors
The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) Athletic Department posthumously inducted Gwatney into their Hall of Fame during a ceremony prior to the tip-off of the men's basketball game vs. New Orleans on February 26, 2009.
See also
- List of assassinated American politicians
- List of superdelegates at the 2008 Democratic National Convention
- 2011 Tucson shooting
References
- ^ a b Andrew DeMillo (August 21, 2008). "Widow of slain Demo chairman to attend convention". The Associated Press. Retrieved August 25, 2008.[dead link]
- ^ a b Rob Moritz (August 22, 2008). "Gwatney's widow to serve as superdelegate at Democratic convention". Arkansas News Bureau. Archived from the original on September 24, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2008.
- ^ AP story Archived August 18, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Bill Gwatney, Ark. Dem. chairman, shot dead at 48". The Associated Press. August 13, 2008. Archived from the original on August 18, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
- ^ "Arkansas Democratic Chairman Gwatney Killed In Shooting". RTT News. August 13, 2008. Archived from the original on August 18, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
- ^ "Gunman wounds Ark. Dems' party chairman". The Associated Press. August 13, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
- ^ a b Shaila Dewan (August 13, 2008). "Gunman Critically Wounds Arkansas Democratic Party Chairman". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
- ^ "Arkansas Democratic chairman killed in shooting". CNN. August 13, 2008. Archived from the original on August 15, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
- ^ a b "Wounded suspect in Ark. shooting dies after chase". The Associated Press. August 13, 2008. Archived from the original on August 22, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
- ^ Max Brantley (August 13, 2008). "UPDATE: Bill Gwatney shot;; assailant dead". The Arkansas Times. Archived from the original on August 19, 2008. Retrieved August 13, 2008.
