December 2, 2023
PADUCAH, KENTUCKY (NewsFirst) — A second man has been arrested in connection with a shooting at Kentucky Oaks Mall.
Paducah police said that 28-year-old Dontrel Muhammad of Paducah, Kentucky, was arrested on a warrant charging him with second degree attempted assault. He is accused of hitting a woman with a bat during a fight outside the mall.
The woman was not seriously injured from the attack.
The incident occurred Friday at Kentucky Oaks Mall. It began in the food court and eventually was taken outside.
Initial reports are that Muhammad and 39-year-old Anthony Williams of Cairo, Illinois, began arguing in the food court area of the mall. They then left the mall building and went to the parking lot. Where the argument continued.
Williams and his wife got in their car and drove away. After a few minutes, Williams drove his car to the front of Kentucky Oaks Mall. He then got out of his car and started arguing with Muhammad. This led to a physical fight among the two.
Muhammad took a baseball bat out of his vehicle and started attacking William’s wife. While this was going on, Williams retrieved a handgun from his vehicle.
He fired the gun at Muhammad. Initially, the gun jammed, but eventually Williams was able to fire the gun. Muhammad was not injured in the incident.
Both Muhammad and Williams fled the scene in their vehicles.
Officers located Williams’ Charger minutes later on Cairo Road and stopped it at H.C. Mathis Drive and 14th Street. Williams and a female passenger were inside the vehicle. Williams was arrested on charges of murder (attempted), five counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. The handgun was located in the vehicle.
A warrant was obtained for Muhammad. He was located in the 1300 block of North 13th Street and arrested.
Detectives completed multiple follow-up interviews and a witness canvass and conducted a reconstruction of the shooting. They located two “strike marks” on the exterior wall near the entrance doors and obtained surveillance video that confirmed witnesses’ accounts of the events.
Williams and Muhammad both were booked into McCracken County Regional Jail.