A 17-year-old girl died Saturday night after she was shot with an AR-15 rifle during a birthday party in Little River County, Ark. A 41-year-old woman is in custody, accused of discharging the weapon "in a roomful of kids," a law enforcement official said.
Caitlin Caskey, an 11th-grade Foreman High School student, was pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Roddy Smith. She was shot once in the upper body, according to reports from 9th Judicial District Prosecutor Bryan Chesshir.
The shooting occurred at a home in the Wallace Community, which is halfway between Ashdown and Foreman, Ark.
The 41-year-old suspect was arrested after allegedly waving and firing the AR-15 during the party, officials said. "The gun went off in a roomful of kids," Chesshir said.
The woman remains in the Sevier County Jail in De Queen, Ark., pending a hearing today. The Little River County Jail in Ashdown does not house female prisoners.
The shooting was reported to the sheriff's department dispatcher about 9:30 p.m. Saturday.
Caitlin's body will be taken to the Arkansas Crime Lab in Little Rock for an autopsy.
"Extra counselors have been on the campus today," Foreman School Superintendent George Kennedy said Monday. "We've also had a few pastors doing what they can do to help the kids. We're trying to help the kids with their grief and answer questions.
"She had a lot of friends and was a good student. Caitlin was highly thought of by the teachers."
She was a member of the Foreman High School golf team, which placed second in the state in its division.
She was also a member of the track team and the Family Career and Community Leaders of America, Kennedy said.
No one else was injured in the shooting.
An arrest affidavit was scheduled to be issued late Monday to a circuit judge.
The suspect is tentatively scheduled to have a first appearance in the Little River County Circuit Court today to be informed of the charges scheduled to be filed against her, Chesshir said.
Arkansas State Police are investigating the shooting.
