A man armed with a high-powered rifle has barricaded himself in a home in West Helena, Arkansas and is shooting at responding police officers. Two people were found dead in the front yard.

The Helena-West Helena police chief confirmed that the two people found outside the residence were deceased, and that the suspect was shooting at officers from the inside. A hostage was reportedly inside the house with the suspect.

UPDATE: The suspect in West Helena is firing on police; officials report "one" hostage, two additional are down in the front yard. Police can't get to them because they are taking fire .... developing ... — Joey Sulipeck FOX13 (@joeysulipeck) August 27, 2019

Local police, including a SWAT team, and Arkansas state troopers have both responded to the situation unfolding in the small town on Tuesday evening.

Police have blocked traffic to the area near the Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and are warning local residents to stay inside until the situation is resolved.

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The shootout comes less than two weeks after a man in north Philadelphia, Pennsylvania shot six police officers during a botched drug raid and the subsequent five-hour standoff.

Helena-West Helena is a city of approximately 12,000 residents on the shores of the Mississippi River, about 70 miles southwest of Memphis, Tennessee.

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