Police: Man was cut by glass, not shot, in Sunday gunfire at Pine Bluff gas station

A man rumored to have been hit by gunfire during a Sunday night outbreak at the Shell on Olive Street was only cut by shattered glass and not hit by a bullet, according to a Pine Bluff police report on the incident.

Officers were called to the gas station at 5600 S. Olive St., across from Walmart, at about 7:13 p.m. Sunday in response to shots fired. According to the police report, an officer made contact with the victim, identified as Braylin Johnson, 26. Johnson told police he was on his lunch break headed back to work when a black, unknown vehicle “occupied many times” pulled in front of Johnson as he was leaving the gas station. The suspect or suspects opened fire at Johnson, who was inside his vehicle.

“Mr. Johnson had blood coming from his head area, but EMT advised that it was only cuts from the shattered glass,” officer Deondre Goodwin wrote in his narrative. “Mr. Johnson’s vehicle had been struck multiple times from two different calibers. Mr. Johnson was transported to JRMC [Jefferson Regional Medical Center] for treatment.”

Sgt. DeShawn Bennett of Pine Bluff Police said Tuesday Johnson was released from the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and then taken by Jefferson County sheriff's deputies to the W.C. "Dub" Brassell Detention Center for an outstanding felony warrant. Johnson is accused of first-degree domestic battery, a Class B felony, in connection with a March 18 shooting of a woman in Pine Bluff, according to court records.

The victim's vehicle in Sunday's shooting was towed to the crime scene bay for further investigation, according to police.

Bennett said there were no leads to the suspect or suspects as of 2:20 p.m. Tuesday.

The police report was submitted to The Commercial on Tuesday morning, following multiple requests. Meanwhile, multiple accounts of the shooting surfaced on social media, claiming that the victim was shot.

Kymara Seals, a convener of the anti-violence group United Citizens of Pine Bluff, said the victim ran into the gas station to call his mother, with whom she later talked. Seals revealed the mother said Sunday that Johnson was shot, but he was also talking and conscious.

CORRECTIONS: An earlier version of this story named the incorrect person accused of first-degree domestic battery on a later reference. The earlier version also incorrectly indicated another vehicle taken to the crime scene bay.

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