Police investigate outside an apartment where a woman was shot Wednesday afternoon in Little Rock. ( Ryan Tarinelli

A woman died Wednesday after being shot at a Little Rock apartment complex earlier in the day, police said.

Police on Wednesday evening were looking for suspect Jerrold Howard, 30, of West Memphis in connection with the killing.

Officers were called about 1:11 p.m. on a report of a shooting at the Barrington Hills Apartments at 1221 Reservoir Road, according to a police statement.

Police found Blair Sims, 25, inside the apartment with a gunshot wound in her upper torso, police said.

Emergency medical personnel took Sims to UAMS Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, according to the statement.

After the shooting, police interviewed Sims' girlfriend, Alexia Stephens, 24, who was listed as a witness in the case.

According to a statement from police, when Sims arrived at the apartment, Stephens said they got into "an altercation," the statement said. Howard also was at the residence, police said.

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Stephens told police she heard gunshots before Sims fell to the floor, according to the statement. She also saw Howard holding a handgun, according to the statement.

Howard ran out of the apartment and fled in an unknown vehicle, police said.

Stephens told police she was in the middle of a breakup with Sims, according to the statement.

Officer Richard Hilgeman, spokesman for the Little Rock police, said Sims and Howard did know each other, though he did not know how.

Photo by Little Rock Police Department

Police wanted flier for Jerrold Howard.

Stephens and Blair lived at the Little Rock apartment together, according to the report.

Detectives spoke with neighbors Wednesday afternoon as a Little Rock officer guarded the door to a second-story apartment.

Hilgeman said the crime scene was inside the apartment.

Wednesday night, an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter called a cellphone number listed in the police report as Howard's.

The call was immediately returned from the same cell number. When told police were looking for Howard, the caller, who did not identify himself, wanted to know why Howard was being sought.

The man immediately hung up when told Howard was a suspect in Sims' shooting.

In August 2006, Howard was found guilty of first-degree battery for a violation that occurred in November 2005, according to online court records.

Howard also was found guilty in August 2006 for simultaneous possession of drugs and firearms related to a violation that happened in July 2006, according to the court records.

Howard is described as black, 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighing around 180 pounds, according to police. Police said Howard might be driving a blue Chrysler 200.

Sims' death is the 42nd homicide of the year in Little Rock.

Metro on 12/29/2016