HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – According to Hot Spring Police, one person was killed and 4 others including the suspect were shot Thursday, May 12th following a large fight after a graduation in Hot Springs.
It happened in the parking lot outside the Hot Springs Convention Center after High Springs High School’s graduation ceremony.
Candice Hughes was shot in the leg while supporting her niece.
“I’m lucky to be here because I thought I was going to die in that parking lot,” said Hughes.
She says the bullet entered the back of her calf and exited out the front.
“I literally had a waterfall of blood coming out the back of my leg.”
Candice has a shattered fibula and can’t walk. She’ll go through 4 weeks of therapy.
She says there was a man in the crowd that used his tie to make a tourniquet. She was told by EMTs that if it wasn’t for this stranger, her chances of surviving would have been slim.
Hughes is a mother of 7 and says all she could think about was her kids being taken care of.
“Whatever happens just make sure my kids are okay,” she said.
After spending 4 days in the hospital, Hughes is back home with her children and they’re happy their mom is doing better.
Daniel Wilkinson, Candice’s 14-year-old son was with her on the night of the shooting and says he feared his mom was going to die.
He now has flashbacks and says his anxiety rises and he gets chills with just the thought of large crowds, leaving him with unwanted stress and concerns.
“It confuses me why people would shoot other people,” said Daniel.
The suspect, Charles Johnson was charged with 1st-degree murder and 3 counts of first-degree battery.
Candice adds that she doesn’t feel justice will be served with the battery charges but says what matters most is that justice is served for the victim that died.
The deceased victim has been identified as 39-year-old Michael Jordan.