Memphis: A teenager has been arrested after an hours-long shooting spree across the city of Memphis that left four people dead in a series of separate attacks, including one that was broadcast live on Facebook, police said. Charges were pending for Ezekiel Kelly, 19, who was taken into custody after multiple shootings over the course of the day left the Tennessee city on edge and forced many of its 6,30,000 residents to shelter in place, Memphis police chief Cerelyn Davis said.
The attacks began when officers found a man shot and killed in a driveway in North Memphis. Officers responded to another shooting and found another man dead, shot multiple times, inside a vehicle. Ten minutes later, a woman was shot in the leg, police said. About an hour later, a man was wounded inside a store and the gunman, police said, streamed the attack live on Facebook. Police were alerted to the broadcast by residents who saw it, Davis said. In a video posted on Facebook, a man could be heard saying, “this is for real”, in a rambling fashion as he opened the door of a shop and fired twice at the first person to come into view.
The video has been removed from the social media platform. The suspect then carjacked another woman and killed her. Another man was later wounded and a woman killed, police said. The gunman later carjacked another female motorist, who was uninjured in the incident. Police spotted the vehicle and began a high-speed chase, which ended when officers took the suspect in custody without incident. Two guns were found inside the vehicle, police said. Mayor Jim Strickland said that Kelly had been charged with attempted first-degree murder but pleaded guilty in April 2021 to a lesser charge of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to three years, served 11 months in prison, and was released in March.
