Gunman Shoots 2 at Arkansas Military Recruitment Center

Police in Little Rock, Ark., say a man whoshot two new Army soldiers, killing one, at a military recruiting center likely had "political and religious motives."

Police Chief Stuart Thomas identified the victim who died as 24-year-old William Long of Conway. He and the second soldier, both wearing fatigues, had recently completed basic training and volunteered to help attract others to the military.

A man in a black SUV drove to the recruitment office and fired "several shots" with an assault rifle at around 10:30 a.m., Little Rock police spokesman Lt. Terry Hastings told FOXNews.com.

Hastings said the suspect — described as a black male — immediately fled the scene in his SUV. The vehicle was stopped on Interstate 630 a short time later and the suspect was taken into custody approximately four miles from the center, Hastings said.

The recruiting office is part of a shopping center at a commercialized intersection. Jim Richardson, the manager at a drug store around the corner from the Army-Navy center, said people at the store didn't realize anything was amiss until hearing sirens outside.

"Nobody heard any gunshots," Richardson said.

Lt. Col. Thomas F. Artis of the Oklahoma City Recruiting Battalion, which oversees the Little Rock office, said the victims had just completed basic training and were not regular recruiters. He said they were serving two weeks in the Little Rock office.

As part of the Hometown Recruiting Assistance Program, the soldiers were sent to "talk to friends, folks in the local area. They can show the example, 'Here's where I was, and here is where I am,"' Artis said.

Artis said neither of the soldiers had been deployed for combat.

Eight other people work in the Little Rock recruiting office, including one civilian, he said.

Little Rock authorities also called a bomb squad to examine the suspect's vehicle, but no explosive device was found.

The suspect has not yet been formally charged.

Thomas told reporters at a news conference that the gunman targeted the military but was not believed to be part of a broader scheme.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.