A welfare check in rural Leslie, Arkansas, ended in a deadly ambush on July 18, 2019. Sergeant Mike Stephen, 56, a 20-year law enforcement veteran with the Stone County Sheriff’s Department and a U.S. Army veteran, arrived at a Flag Road residence about 8:39 a.m. He spoke with a woman outside the home and, according to reports, gunfire erupted from the house. Stephen and the woman were struck; Stephen was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a local hospital.

Authorities identified 39-year-old Samuel Fullerton as the suspected shooter; Fullerton was also found dead at the scene. Investigators were determining whether Fullerton shot himself or was struck by rounds from deputies who responded. The Arkansas State Police opened an investigation to reconstruct the sequence of events. Stephen also served as chief of the Pineville Volunteer Fire Department and was publicly mourned, with the governor ordering flags flown at half-staff in his honor.

If anyone witnessed the July 18 events on Flag Road or has information about what happened inside the residence, please share what you know.