Arkansas

 is an elderly, mad sniper, who passes his time in Minefield by firing without warning at NPCs entering the city limits.

Aside from targeting inanimate objects near the player, he will fire - from his perch in a three-story building at the north end of town - upon the vehicles scattered about the area, causing explosions which release radiation. If killed, he will drop the Ridgefield Gate key, which grants access to all of Minefield's - or Ridgefield's - houses.

Arkansas is possibly one of the original surviving residents of Minefield from before the slaver invasion. He may, in particular, have been a resident of Gibson House (the house with the bloody hand print on the door), as one of its rooms contains the same objects as those lying by the bed on the second floor of the office building (crutches, surgical tubing, a medical brace, and cherry bombs). It's possible that he set the mines surrounding and throughout the town and, due to his penchant for firing from a distance at visitors, may be the source of many wastelanders' beliefs that Minefield is haunted.

Arkansas is also one of the targets for enslavement upon whom the Slavers have put a special bounty.

Corpse Loot

 * Sniper Rifle
 * .308 Caliber Round (3)
 * Ridgefield Gate key

Appearances
 only appears in Fallout 3.

Related Quests
Strictly Business

The Wasteland Survival Guide



Behind the Scenes
The name Arkansas may be a reference a sniper nicknamed "Arkansas" who served under the military adventurer William Walker in his attempt to control Nicaragua (as detailed in the book "Tycoon's War", by Stephen Dando-Collins).

Bugs

 * If one is to kill Arkansas, there's a chance that this will register with the Strictly Business quest as being captured.
 * If you free Arkansas from Paradise Falls after enslaving him, for some reason, he will still have his Sniper Rifle. (And he will start to kill his fellow escaped slaves on the PC version(confirmed on Xbox 360, PS3). Let the other slaves escape first!)
 * I attempted to shoot the gun out of Arkansas's hand in VATs and after doing so he completely disappeared. I searched everywhere for his body.  I didn't kill him, he just completely vanished.  I did however, find his gun laying there on the ground but it wasn't broken(confirmed on Xbox 360/PC, PS3 verison)
 * Arkansas may also dissappear through killing him normally, although his weapon will be still available to collect (XBOX360).
 * (360) Arkansas may rocket into the air after being killed, flying quite a distance away from the ruined building he was in. This means you will have to pick your way into each of the houses to gain entry.