A dispute that reportedly began over a broken cell phone escalated into a chaotic shootout inside a Little Rock, Arkansas, convenience store, leaving 19-year-old Ladontae Wilburn and a 74-year-old bystander dead. The burst of violence, which also left four other people critically injured, unfolded in a matter of moments, captured by the store’s surveillance cameras.
Ladontae was a twin, and his brother, Kavontae Wilburn, was with him that day.
The incident took place at approximately 5:18 p.m. on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at the Circle K gas station at 6201 Colonel Glenn Road. The area, near the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, had experienced gun violence in the past, including another fatal shooting at the same location in 2024. On this evening, Little Rock Police Department officers responded to calls of shots fired and arrived to a scene of carnage inside and outside the store.
According to a probable cause affidavit, surveillance video showed Ladontae Wilburn entering the Circle K with a handgun equipped with a large drum magazine. Inside, a group of people were already present. The video captured 25-year-old Braxton Flowers raising a firearm at Ladontae, and the two began exchanging gunfire. Another man, 22-year-old Tedarien Mitchell, also fired shots. During the exchange, James Parker, a 74-year-old alumnus of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff who was reportedly in town for homecoming, was seen falling to the ground, clutching his chest.
As the shooting continued, Ladontae's twin brother, Kavontae Wilburn, was seen on video standing in the doorway, firing numerous rounds toward Flowers, Mitchell, and 22-year-old Tamayra Woods. Woods was hit and collapsed on the floor. Flowers, Mitchell, and another man, 25-year-old Kemo Jones, fled to the back of the store. All four sustained critical gunshot injuries. Ladontae was also struck during the firefight. He was transported by a personal vehicle to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries a short time later. James Parker was pronounced dead inside the store.
The Little Rock Police Department's investigation moved quickly, aided by the city's Real Time Crime Center and a network of license plate reader cameras. Detectives located Kavontae Wilburn at the hospital where his brother had been taken. According to an affidavit, Kavontae initially told detectives he heard gunshots while walking to the store and believed someone was shooting at his brother. He later requested a lawyer. Police arrested him and charged him with two counts of Capital Murder.
Another man who arrived at the store with the Wilburn brothers, Kelvion Trammell, told investigators the incident stemmed from an argument over a phone that had been run over by Mitchell's group. He stated that after he and Ladontae went inside the store to make a purchase, he saw Ladontae walk back in with the handgun just before the shooting started.
A few days later, on October 18, police arrested Braxton Flowers, who had been hospitalized for his injuries. He was charged with one count of Capital Murder and one count of Murder in the First Degree. In their initial court appearances, both Kavontae Wilburn and Braxton Flowers pleaded not guilty. As of October 2026, charges were pending against Flowers, and a file review was set to be completed for Tedarien Mitchell. The investigation by the LRPD's Major Crimes Division was considered ongoing.
