Reward up to $10,000 in Salvation Army slaying

[RLF]

Salvation Army Major Philip Wise Gunned Down Christmas Eve In Front of His Three Kids

Jeremy Peppas - Dec 28, 2009

NORTH LITTLE ROCK — A reward in the Christmas Eve shooting death of a Salvation Army supervisor rose to $10,000 today as authorities said they had scant new information about the slaying.

Maj. Philip Wise, 40, was gunned down in the parking lot of Salvation Army headquarters here Thursday night as he dropped off the day’s donations.

Wise’s three children, age 4, 6 and 8, were with him when the shooting occurred and told police two black men approached them before gunfire erupted.

At a news conference today, Police Chief Danny Bradley said detectives had no new information in the homicide that police said occurred during an “apparent robbery.”

Bradley announced that a crimestoppers reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the killing had grown from the original $1,000 to $10,000 through private donations.

Joining Bradley at the news conference, Mayor Patrick Hays and city pastors appealed to residents of the area to report to police any information they have about the shooting.

Meanwhile, Salvation Army Maj. Harvey Johnson said two other funds have been established for the Wise family.


http://arkansasnews.com/2009/12/28/reward-up-to-10000-in-salvation-army-slaying/

[RLF]

Salvation Army Major shot dead on Christmas Eve

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfLgW7prmxs" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfLgW7prmxs</a>

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - "A Salvation Army worker was shot and killed Christmas Eve in front of his three young children by a man who attempted to rob him outside the charity's community center in North Little Rock, a Salvation Army official said Friday.

North Little Rock police said they were looking for the two men who accosted Salvation Army Maj. Philip Wise outside the community center about 4 p.m. Thursday. No arrests have been made. Wise, 40, had gone to the community center with his children to pick up his wife — also a Salvation Army major — to drive to his mother's home in West Virginia, said Maj. Harvey Johnson, area commander of Salvation Army. As Wise neared the side door, two men approached.

Both men were carrying handguns, police said. One demanded money and shot Wise, Pulaski County Coroner Garland Camper told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Wise's wife, Cindy, was inside the center and called 911. Blood stained the sidewalk outside the center Friday.

The Wises had just adopted their children — ages 4, 6 and 8 — last year, Johnson said. The three were siblings who came from an abusive family. They were receiving counseling after their father's death, he said. Wise had worked for three years in Baring Cross, a low-income neighborhood troubled by gangs and drugs, Johnson said. He ran youth programs, a food pantry and church services. "He was involved in the fabric of that community in a lot of different ways," Johnson said.

He described Wise as "a big boy" who played "a big old tuba" in a brass ensemble and used his love of music to try help others. "He encouraged kids in music as an alternative to the life they were living," he said. Wise was originally from Weirton, W.Va., and his wife, Cindy, was from Charleston, W.Va. They met 16 years ago at a Salvation Army school in Atlanta, Johnson said. Both had worked for the Salvation Army ever since. "He's touched a lot of people," Johnson said. "But who would he have touched if he had been able to live out his career?"