In the fading daylight of an autumn evening in Little Rock, Arkansas, a burst of gunfire shattered the peace at Ottenheimer Park. On October 24, 2024, in the parking lot of the park located at 7201 Dahlia Drive, 19-year-old Daniel Mendez, a Hispanic male, was fatally wounded in a shooting incident. When police officers responded to the scene, they found Daniel suffering from an apparent gunshot wound.
Despite the immediate arrival and life-saving efforts of Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services, his injuries proved too severe, and he was pronounced deceased right there in the place he had been struck down.
Another young man, 19-year-old Lakeithon Harris, was also a victim of the gunfire that erupted that evening. Harris, however, was able to make it to a local hospital for medical attention and survived the shooting. In the immediate aftermath, the Little Rock Police Department secured the area, and Homicide Detectives were called in to begin the painstaking process of unraveling what had led to the violence. The Crime Scene Search Unit meticulously combed the parking lot for evidence, searching for witnesses and any available video surveillance that might hold clues to the identity of the person or people responsible.
During their search of the scene, investigators made a significant discovery, recovering two firearms. One was a Glock 45 9mm pistol equipped with an extended magazine, and the other was a bloodied 'Micro Draco,' a handgun with a design based on the AK-47. Daniel Mendez, who was born on March 26, 2005, to Oscar Mendez and Marianna Perez, was taken to the Arkansas State Crime Lab for an autopsy to officially determine the cause of his death. As his family grieved their profound loss, the investigation into his homicide continued. To date, the Little Rock Police Department has not publicly identified any suspects in the killing, and the investigation remains active and ongoing as they seek to bring justice for Daniel Mendez.
