2022 Memphis shootings | |
Location: | Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
Date: | September 7, 2022 |
Time-Begin: | 12:56a.m. |
Time-End: | 8:58p.m. |
Timezone: | CDT |
Type: | Spree shooting, triple-murder |
Weapons: | Glock pistol (modified) |
Fatalities: | 3 |
Injuries: | 3 |
Accused: | Ezekiel Kelly |
On September 7, 2022, three people were killed and three others were injured after a gunman went on a shooting spree in Memphis, Tennessee, United States. The attack was livestreamed on Facebook Live.[1]
The shootings began at around 12:56 a.m., when a man was found fatally shot on Lyndale Avenue. At 4:38 p.m., another man was found fatally shot on South Parkway East. Video surveillance showed that the gunman had fired multiple shots. Two minutes later, a woman with multiple gunshots to the leg was found at the intersection of Norris Road and Interstate 240. The gunman fled in a sedan eastbound on Norris Road.[2]
At 5:59 p.m., a man was found in critical condition outside of an AutoZone on Jackson Avenue with multiple bullets wounds to the chest. At around the same time, the suspect, 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly, posted a livestream on Facebook Live in which he reportedly entered the AutoZone, shot a man, and exited.
At 6:12 p.m., police received a tip that Kelly was on Facebook Live claiming that he would harm civilians. They subsequently launched a manhunt for Kelly and ordered a shelter-in-place. At 7:23 p.m., the gunman shot a woman on Poplar Avenue and took her SUV. A minute later, a man was found shot and injured further down the same street.
At 8:56 p.m., the gunman carjacked a woman driving a Dodge Challenger on Highway 51. Two minutes later, police located the vehicle northbound on Interstate 55 and arrested Kelly.
Police later stated that Corteria Wright, a 17-year-old girl initially believed to have been killed in the shootings was killed by another suspect.[3]
Ezekiel Kelly, a 19-year-old male (born October 14, 2002), was previously convicted of a felony.[4] Shortly before he was arrested, Kelly suffered injuries after allegedly crashing a stolen vehicle in Whitehaven. He has been charged with first degree murder.[5] Additional charges were also filed including two additional counts of first-degree murder, along with terrorism and carjacking.[6]
On March 27, 2023, prosecutors said they would pursue the death penalty if Kelly is convicted.[7]