Investigators probe West Helena Exxon shooting that injures two men

Gunfire at the Exxon station at 670 Sebastian Street in West Helena left two 21-year-old men injured and sent Arkansas State Police investigators into the middle of a busy Phillips County business stop where customers and workers were nearby.

The Helena-West Helena Police Department asked the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division to take over the case after the shooting on the evening of July 15. State police said the incident happened at the Exxon station in West Helena, a commercial site where drivers stop for fuel, food and quick purchases throughout the day and night.

Witnesses told investigators that Fredrick Coleman, 21, of Helena, verbally confronted Nathaniel Harvey, also 21 and from Helena, inside the store. Those same accounts say Harvey then retrieved a weapon, and shots were fired between the two men as the encounter moved from a verbal dispute to a shooting. The Arkansas State Police said the two men shot each other at the convenience store.

Action News 5 reported that both men were critical after the gas-station shooting. THV11 also identified the victims as two 21-year-old men injured in the incident. The injuries and the public setting give the case broader weight than a private dispute, because the shooting unfolded at a place used daily by people passing through West Helena and by residents who rely on the corridor for errands and fuel.

The investigation now centers on piecing together the sequence inside and outside the store, including who fired first and how the confrontation escalated so quickly. KAIT8 reported the confrontation began in the store and ended with Harvey shot as he left. The state police CID case is the channel through which detectives will sort witness statements, physical evidence and any video that may exist at the station.

For West Helena and the rest of Phillips County, the case adds to concerns about violence showing up at highly visible businesses where families, employees and travelers expect an ordinary stop. The Exxon shooting also keeps attention on the Helena-West Helena Police Department’s reliance on state investigators when a local case turns complex and potentially deadly. With two young men hurt at a named gas station on Sebastian Street, residents are left waiting for charges, a clearer timeline and the next steps in a case that began in plain view.