A man shot and killed his wife on Monday morning, and then a few minutes later, apparently killed himself, according to the Pine Bluff Police Department.
At 8:30 a.m., officers went to Cherry Street Liquor at 2517 S. Cherry St., where there had been a report of a shooting. When officers arrived, they found Mary Christopher, 44, in a black passenger car that was located in the parking lot. Christopher had what appeared to be gunshot wounds and was unresponsive. She was later pronounced dead at the scene.
Christopher’s 8-year-old son was in the vehicle when the shooting occurred, but he was not injured, police said.
Witnesses said that the woman’s husband, Gregory Christopher Sr., 58, was talking to her from outside of the vehicle when he shot her. He then fled the scene.
Just after 10 a.m., Gregory Christopher’s vehicle was seen on a surveillance camera as it was entering Regional Park. Officers went to the park and found Christopher in his vehicle near the waterfront with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. He was unresponsive and later pronounced dead at the scene.
The motive for the homicide is unknown at this time, police said.
This is Pine Bluff’s ninth homicide this year and the second in two days.