STRANGE

Arkansas Hospital Shooter Allegedly Asked Couple About Their Relationship Before Opening Fire

Raymond Lovett is charged with capital murder and aggravated assault for the death of Leighton Whitfield on Wednesday.

When Raymond Lovett Jr., 24, opened fire at CHI St. Vincent Hospital North in Sherwood, Arkansas, on Wednesday, he allegedly asked an engaged couple “how long they had been together,” according to a police report obtained by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Lovett is charged with capital murder and aggravated assault for the death of Leighton Whitfield, 21. The fiancée, Jade Pye, was receiving treatment on the fourth flour and being visited by Whitfield when Lovett, whom Pye referred to as “Ajay,” entered the room around 10 a.m. He shot Whitfield, then turned his gun toward Pye, but she pulled an alarm attached to her bed. Police said Lovett and Whitfield knew each other. Whitfield was found with “at least one gunshot wound,” and cops are calling the shooting as an isolated incident. Lovett, whose bail is set at $500,000, will appear in court on Nov. 8.