Memphis police officers work an active shooting scene on Poplar Avenue in Memphis, Tenn. Wednesday, September 7, 2022.
Mark Weber/AP
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Mark Weber/AP
Memphis police officers work an active shooting scene on Poplar Avenue in Memphis, Tenn. Wednesday, September 7, 2022.
Mark Weber/AP
MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Police in Memphis, Tenn., said a man who drove through the city shooting at people, killing four, during an hours-long rampage that forced frightened people to take shelter on Wednesday, has been arrested.
Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly was arrested after 9 p.m. in the Whitehaven neighborhood.
Four people were killed and three others were wounded in seven shootings across Memphis, Police Director Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said during a news conference early Thursday. The rampage began at 12:56 a.m. Wednesday and continued until about 8:30 p.m.
There were at least eight crime scenes: the seven shootings and a carjacking in Southaven, Davis said.
That was about two hours after police sent out an alert saying a man driving a light blue Infiniti was responsible for multiple shootings in the city. Police said he later switched vehicles to a gray Toyota SUV. Police said he recorded his actions on Facebook.
As the gunman terrorized the city, public bus service was suspended and a downtown stadium, where a minor league baseball game was taking place, was placed on lockdown. Friends and relatives frantically called and texted each other to check on each other’s safety. TV stations interrupted regular coverage to keep viewers updated.
The University of Memphis sent a message to students saying a shooting had been reported near campus. Rhodes College, which is about 4 miles from the university, advised students on and off campus to shelter in place.
The area where Kelly was arrested was about 11 miles from the University of Memphis and about 12 miles from Rhodes College. Police in Southaven, Mississippi, which is south of Memphis just across the state line, said Kelly stole a car at a gas station there before being arrested again in Memphis.
“If you don’t have to be out, stay inside until this is resolved,” Memphis police said on Twitter, before the arrest.
Rudolph told WMC-TV that police did not know of a motive for the shooting.
Anyone with information was asked to call 911.
Memphis has recently been rocked by several high-profile murders in recent weeks, including the shooting of a pastor during a carjacking on the street, the killing of an activist during an argument over money, and the killing of a woman who was kidnapped while she was on a pre-dawn run.
“I understand it feels like so much violence and evil to experience in such a short amount of time,” Memphis City Council member Chase Carlisle said on Twitter. “We are so much more than that.”
Court records show in February 2020, Kelly, then 17, was charged as an adult with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, use of a firearm to commit a dangerous felony and reckless endangerment. with a deadly weapon. The circumstances of the case were not immediately known.
Records show he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to three years in prison. It was not immediately known how much of the sentence he served.
