Boy Hit by Stray Bullet on Arkansas Log Flume, Police Say

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – A boy was injured by a stray bullet while on a ride at an amusement park in what police Tuesday called a "freak accident."

Hot Springs police spokesman Cpl. Tom Winton said that it would be nearly impossible to tell who fired the shot in Monday's shooting at Magic Spring & Crystal Falls amusement park.

"It's still being investigated, but I'm pretty sure it's going to wind up being a freak accident," Winton said.

The victim, an 11-year-old boy whose name was not released because of his age, was struck in the left wrist by a .22 caliber bullet riding the Old No. 2 Logging Co. Log Flume at the park, police said.

The child's mother, Michelle Anne Lamb, told police that she was riding in the front seat and her son was riding in the middle seat on the log flume ride at about 6 p.m. when she heard him yell "ouch."

Lamb told police she saw the bullet in his wrist, pulled it out and sought medical attention after the ride came to a stop. Winton said no one reported hearing gunshots.

Winton said it appeared that someone fired the shotgun from outside the theme park and the bullet hit the child as it was falling. Winton said the bullet came from a gun that was fired at an angle.

The bullet, which did not fully penetrate the child's wrist, had slowed down significantly from the speed at which it was fired, Winton said.

"It wasn't fired straight up in the air, but it has to come down somewhere," Winton said.

Dan Aylward, Magic Springs president and general manager, said the victim received treatment from on-site emergency medical technicians. No one else was injured, Aylward said.