A Camden man was killed on Wednesday, November 11, 2026, after he fired on sheriff's deputies twice in Ouachita County and then fired at a state trooper during a pursuit on Highway 274 in Calhoun County, the Arkansas State Police (ASP) said in a news release issued on Thursday, November 12. The trooper returned fire, the man's vehicle left the roadway and crashed, and he was pronounced dead. No troopers or officers were injured.
Source: Arkansas State Police / Arkansas Department of Public Safety news release, Nov. 12, 2026
The man was identified by the state police as Clay Gresham, 43, of Camden. ASP's Criminal Investigation Division (CID) is investigating both the death and the exchanges of gunfire in the two counties, and its findings will go to the Calhoun County Prosecuting Attorney, who will determine whether the trooper's use of deadly force was consistent with Arkansas law, the release said. KJNB TV reported the same account on Thursday.
Source: KJNB TV, Nov. 12, 2026
It began with a domestic-violence call in Ouachita County
At about 7:50 a.m. on Wednesday, Ouachita County Sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic-violence incident at a home on Ouachita 51, the state police said. When deputies arrived, they learned that Gresham had already fled the scene. He was also wanted on an unrelated warrant out of Dallas County, according to the release — Dallas County here is the Arkansas county whose seat is Fordyce, a neighbouring county in south Arkansas, not the Texas city.
Source: Arkansas State Police / Arkansas Department of Public Safety news release, Nov. 12, 2026
Deputies then located Gresham driving on Ouachita 154 and tried to stop him. ASP said that after leading deputies down several county roads, he stopped, got out of his vehicle and fired on deputies with a handgun, then got back in and fled. He stopped a second time on Ouachita 55, blocking the roadway, and exchanged gunfire with deputies, striking patrol units, the release said. Officers then lost sight of him as the pursuit continued. The details of the gunfire are the state police account of the encounters; they have not been tested in court, and the CID investigation is the process that will examine them.
Source: Arkansas State Police / Arkansas Department of Public Safety news release, Nov. 12, 2026
A multi-agency search found him in Calhoun County
The Ouachita County Sheriff's Office asked ASP's Criminal Investigation Division and Highway Patrol Division for help. Investigators located Gresham in Calhoun County, in the Woodberry area, and a large response assembled: troopers from ASP Troop F, Calhoun County Sheriff's deputies, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and agents from the 13th Judicial Drug Task Force, the state police said.
Source: Arkansas State Police / Arkansas Department of Public Safety news release, Nov. 12, 2026
At about 11:40 a.m. — nearly four hours after the first call — the suspect vehicle was spotted on Calhoun County Road 219. While travelling eastbound on Highway 274, Gresham fired at the ASP trooper who was leading the pursuit, ASP said. The trooper returned fire and struck him; the vehicle left the roadway and crashed. KJNB's report of the state police account matches the release on the time, the highway and the sequence.
Source: KJNB TV, Nov. 12, 2026
Pronounced dead; body sent to the State Crime Laboratory
Gresham was pronounced dead by the Union County Coroner, and his body was transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory, where the official cause and manner of death will be determined, ASP said. The release named Hampton — the Calhoun County seat — as its dateline. ASP said no troopers or officers were injured in any of the encounters, and that no additional information would be released while the investigation continues.
Source: Arkansas State Police / Arkansas Department of Public Safety news release, Nov. 12, 2026
Background: how Arkansas reviews a trooper-involved shooting
Under the Arkansas process described in the release itself, a fatal trooper-involved shooting is not judged by the trooper's own troop: ASP's Criminal Investigation Division investigates, prepares a case file, and hands it to the prosecuting attorney for the county where the shooting happened — here, Calhoun County — who decides whether the use of deadly force was consistent with Arkansas law. That review is still ahead in this case, and no finding has been announced. The domestic-violence call that started the morning, and the Dallas County warrant, are separate matters from the shooting investigation; a warrant and the allegations in a call are accusations, not convictions.
Source: Arkansas State Police / Arkansas Department of Public Safety news release, Nov. 12, 2026
ASP CID continues to investigate the death and the gunfire in both counties. The State Crime Laboratory will determine the official cause and manner of death, and the completed CID case file goes to the Calhoun County Prosecuting Attorney for the deadly-force decision. ASP says no further information will be released at this time.
For residents of Ouachita and Calhoun counties, Wednesday brought an armed pursuit across the county roads and highways they use every day — from Ouachita 51 and Ouachita 154 in the morning to Highway 274 near Hampton by midday. Awaaz Punjab's account is based on the Arkansas State Police release of November 12, 2026, as also reported by KJNB TV and South Arkansas Now; it will be updated if the CID or the prosecuting attorney releases findings.