Travis Posey and the 2024 Fordyce Grocery Store Massacre
Overview
Travis Eugene “Joey” Posey carried out a mass shooting at the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas, on June 21, 2024. Armed with a 12-gauge shotgun, a semiautomatic pistol and a bandolier containing additional ammunition, Posey opened fire on people outside and inside the store. Four people were killed, and eleven others were injured, including two law enforcement officers. The attack ended within minutes when responding officers exchanged gunfire with Posey, wounded him and took him into custody.
Posey was 44 years old at the time of the massacre and lived in New Edinburg, a small community southeast of Fordyce. Investigators found no apparent personal relationship between Posey and the people he attacked. Authorities described the victims as targets of opportunity and said Posey fired indiscriminately at customers, employees, motorists and police officers. No definite motive for the massacre has been publicly established.
The Beginning of the Attack
The shooting began at approximately 11:38 a.m. on Friday, June 21, 2024. Posey drove a pickup truck into the parking lot of the Mad Butcher grocery store, located near U.S. Route 79 in Fordyce. He was carrying a 12-gauge shotgun and had additional shotgun shells arranged in a bandolier. He also possessed a handgun, although investigators reported that the shotgun was the principal weapon used during the attack.
After leaving his truck, Posey began shooting people in the parking lot. One of the first victims was 50-year-old Roy Sturgis, who had just finished shopping and was leaving the store. Although mortally wounded, Sturgis reached his vehicle and attempted to obtain medical help. He later died from his injuries.
Posey then fired toward the grocery store’s entrance and through its windows. Employees and customers near the checkout area were struck or forced to flee for cover. The sudden gunfire caused panic throughout the building. Some shoppers escaped through rear exits, while others concealed themselves in storage areas and freezers as Posey entered the store.
The Shooting Inside the Mad Butcher
Once inside the grocery store, Posey continued firing at customers and employees. Authorities said he moved through the building and selected people who happened to be in his path. There was no evidence that he entered the store looking for a particular victim.
Shirley Kay Taylor was fatally shot inside the store. Taylor, a longtime Fordyce-area resident, had been shopping when the attack began. Witnesses and family members later remembered her as a hardworking woman devoted to her children and other relatives.
Another victim, 23-year-old Callie Weems, was a nurse and the mother of a 10-month-old daughter. Instead of immediately fleeing, Weems attempted to provide medical assistance to someone who had been shot near the checkout area. Posey encountered her while she was rendering aid and fatally shot her. Arkansas State Police officials later praised her actions as an example of extraordinary courage and compassion during the attack.
At least one civilian reportedly attempted to confront or stop Posey after witnessing the parking-lot shooting. The man was shot in the head and upper body but survived. Other customers and employees escaped through the rear of the building or remained hidden until officers secured the store.
The Parking-Lot Gun Battle
Law enforcement officers reached the Mad Butcher within minutes of the first emergency calls. Officers from the Fordyce Police Department, Dallas County Sheriff’s Office and surrounding agencies responded to the scene. Posey emerged from the store and exchanged gunfire with officers in the parking lot.
During this stage of the attack, Posey continued firing at people and vehicles. He shot at parked automobiles and motorists attempting to drive away. Ellen Shrum, 81, was struck while she was near her vehicle with her groceries. She was transported for emergency treatment but died on June 22, 2024, becoming the fourth fatality from the massacre.
Two officers were wounded by gunfire, while another officer suffered a minor injury connected to the confrontation. The injured officers survived. Police returned fire and struck Posey, leaving him with injuries that were not considered life-threatening. He was disarmed and arrested less than five minutes after the first shots were reported.
Victims Killed in the Massacre
- Callie Weems, 23 – Killed on June 21, 2024, inside the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce, Arkansas. Weems was a nurse and young mother who was attempting to help another shooting victim when Posey shot her.
- Roy Sturgis, 50 – Fatally wounded on June 21, 2024, near the entrance or parking lot of the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce. He had just completed his shopping and attempted to drive himself to medical care after being shot.
- Shirley Kay Taylor, 62 – Killed on June 21, 2024, inside the Mad Butcher grocery store in Fordyce. She was remembered by her family as a hardworking and devoted mother and grandmother.
- Ellen Shrum, 81 – Shot on June 21, 2024, in the grocery store parking lot while near her vehicle. She died from her injuries on June 22, 2024.
The Surviving Victims
In addition to the four people killed, eleven people were injured during the attack, including civilians and responding police officers. The civilian victims included men and women ranging from young adults to senior citizens. Their injuries varied from minor wounds to critical gunshot trauma. Several required hospitalization, and at least one survivor remained in critical condition during the days immediately following the massacre.
Fordyce Police Officer James Johnson suffered a gunshot wound and was hospitalized before being released. Other officers sustained injuries during the exchange of gunfire and the effort to apprehend Posey. The rapid police response prevented Posey from continuing the attack or escaping into the surrounding community.
Arrest and Initial Charges
After receiving treatment for his wounds, Posey was placed in the Ouachita County Detention Center and held without bond. On June 25, 2024, he appeared in court and pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors charged him with four counts of capital murder and multiple counts of attempted capital murder arising from the people he shot or attempted to shoot.
Investigators recovered Posey’s shotgun, pistol and ammunition. Authorities determined that he had fired the shotgun repeatedly during the massacre, while the handgun apparently was not discharged. Police found no evidence that Posey knew the victims or had been involved in a confrontation with them before the shooting.
Posey had little publicly documented criminal history before the Fordyce massacre. In November 2011, he had been arrested after attempting to bring a firearm through an entrance at Fort Drum, New York. That case was ultimately resolved through a reduced disorderly-conduct charge and a fine.
Guilty Pleas and Sentencing
Posey initially maintained his not-guilty pleas while the prosecution prepared for trial. On July 21, 2025, however, he pleaded guilty to four counts of capital murder and eleven counts of attempted capital murder. The guilty pleas eliminated the need for a trial and established his legal responsibility for every death and attempted killing charged in the case.
On August 4, 2025, Judge Spencer Singleton sentenced Posey to four life sentences without the possibility of parole for the capital-murder convictions. The court also imposed a combined 220 years of imprisonment for the eleven attempted-capital-murder convictions. The sentences ensured that Posey would never be released from prison.
Relatives of the victims addressed the court during the sentencing hearing and described the permanent damage caused by Posey’s actions. They spoke about lost parents, children and grandparents, as well as the emotional trauma suffered by survivors who had witnessed the violence. Posey did not make a public statement during the hearing.
Effect on the Fordyce Community
Fordyce was a city of approximately 3,200 residents, and the Mad Butcher was its primary grocery store. The massacre therefore affected nearly every part of the community. The store closed while investigators processed the crime scene and workers repaired damage caused by gunfire. Because residents depended on the store for food and household necessities, temporary food-distribution locations were established around the city.
Hundreds of people attended a candlelight vigil held near the store on June 23, 2024. Candles, flowers and memorials bearing the victims’ names were placed outside the building. Arkansas officials ordered flags lowered in honor of those killed, while local organizations collected money and supplies for the wounded and the victims’ families.
The Mad Butcher reopened on July 2, 2024, eleven days after the shooting. Its reopening was viewed as an important step in the community’s recovery, although survivors, employees and relatives of the dead continued to cope with the physical and emotional consequences of the massacre.
Legacy of the Crime
The Fordyce grocery store shooting became one of Arkansas’s deadliest modern mass shootings. In only a few minutes, Posey transformed an ordinary Friday shopping trip into a scene of indiscriminate violence. Four people lost their lives, numerous others suffered gunshot wounds, and an entire community was forced to confront the effects of a seemingly unprovoked attack.
Although Posey admitted responsibility and received sentences that will keep him imprisoned for life, the reason he selected the Mad Butcher and decided to attack strangers remains unclear. His guilty pleas resolved the criminal prosecution but did not provide the victims’ families with a publicly established motive. The massacre is remembered primarily through the lives of Callie Weems, Roy Sturgis, Shirley Kay Taylor and Ellen Shrum, as well as the courage of survivors, civilians and officers who attempted to protect others during the attack.
