Ex-Habitat for Humanity worker accused of shooting employee in parking lot

Patrick Lee McElroy, 58, of Hot Springs National Park
Patrick Lee McElroy, 58, of Hot Springs National Park

A former Habitat for Humanity employee is being held after a shooting in Hot Springs left one of the organization's current workers injured Wednesday.

Police responded about 5:05 p.m. to the shooting in the parking lot of a Habitat for Humanity ReStore in Hot Springs, across from the Austin Convention Hotel and Spa on Malvern Avenue.

At the scene, authorities found Sheldon Rhine, a receiving manager at the Habitat for Humanity store, with a single gunshot wound to his upper body, police said.

Rhine identified the shooter as Hot Springs National Park resident Patrick Lee McElroy, 58. McElroy is a former Habitat employee who had recently been fired, police said in a news release.

Rhine was transported to a local hospital for injuries not believed to be life-threatening, police said.

Authorities said they arrested McElroy later Wednesday night in the parking lot of the Hot Springs Mountain Tower and found a firearm in his vehicle.

Court records show McElroy was booked into the Garland County jail on a charge of first-degree battery at 9:26 p.m., where he remained in custody as of Friday morning on a $5,000 bond.

McElroy has a district court appearance scheduled for Dec. 8.

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