3 months ago
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It happened in Burton's home at 9001 Tanya Drive around midnight. They say he is one of several drug dealers they have been following for a while.
From the street, crime scene tape and a broken door are the only clues, alerting neighbors police were in Burton's home overnight; that and the investigators pouring over the house Wednesday morning.
Mona Jones is one of the few who watched the officers approach the house Tuesday.
"We heard a big old boom and we were like 'what happened?' So when we tried to come out after the boom, [swat officers] were like 'everybody, go back in, go in your house,'" said Jones.
Neighbors say they don't know Burton and had no idea he was running an alleged drug house next door. Police had him on their radar for several years in drug related incidents and they arrested him in 2006.
More than 15 SWAT officers surrounded the house just after midnight Tuesday; about three of them had to force themselves in when Burton refused to come out.
Officers found Burton hiding in a bedroom closet and ordered him to get out. Lieutenant Terry Hastings says he came out with a 9-mm pistol pointing at the officers.
"One SWAT officer did fire several rounds striking him. He is now at a local hospital in stable condition," said Hastings.
The incident was the second police-involved shooting for Little Rock in less than 24-hours. Hastings says it just goes to show how dangerous the job can be.
"In just a matter of seconds, you can go from what is a routine call to something very serious," he said.
Half a pound of marijuana worth several thousand dollars, and scales were recovered from the scene.
The house was one of hundreds Little Rock police served search and seizure warrants to Tuesday. Officer Richard Glascock, who fired the shots, is on administrative leave, which is standard procedure with police involved shootings. He joined the force in November.
Once Shawn Burton is released from the hospital, he will face charges related to drug possession and trying to shoot a police officer.
