On Friday, March 27, 2026, at approximately 6:00 a.m. White County deputies were called to 103 Hamrick Road outside of Bald Knob in reference to an armed subject with felony warrants for aggravated assault and threatening. When deputies arrived they located the suspect, armed with a pistol, in a disabled vehicle. A negotiator was dispatched to the scene followed by the Special Response Team.
The suspect communicated with the negotiator for a time before stating that the police were going to have to kill him and then ceased speaking to the negotiator.
After more negotiation attempts, the Special Response Team introduced irritant gas into the vehicle. The suspect exited the vehicle with the pistol, refused to surrender or drop the gun and was struck by a 40mm impact round (commonly referred to as a bean bag) and ran towards a wood line while waving a pistol at deputies. A K-9 was released and engaged the suspect. The suspect fired on the K-9 striking it in the head, the suspect was then immediately shot by deputies.
The K-9 was treated in Searcy and should make a full recovery. The suspect was transported to Unity and then moved to Little Rock for additional treatment.
Arkansas State Police was requested to investigate the officer involved shooting.
Additional charges on the suspect for his actions today are pending.
Suspect: William Thomas w/m DOB 4/27/1988