MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Police Department (MPD) said a shooting took place at South B.B. King and Peabody Place early Sunday morning.
Officers said they responded around 2:30 a.m. and that eight different victims were all transported to local hospitals.
The ages and hospitals that the victims were transported to is as follows:
A 24-year-old man and a 54-year-old man in non-critical to Regional One
A 37-year-old woman, a 31-year-old woman, and a 20-year-old man in non-critical to Regional One by a personally owned vehicle
A 19-year-old woman in non-critical to Methodist Central by a personally owned vehicle
A 28-year-old man in non-critical to Baptist Desoto by a personally owned vehicle
A 31-year-old man in non-critical to Methodist South by a personally owned vehicle
Memphis police released a statement Sunday evening in which the beginning of the incident was described as multiple individuals gathering in vehicles at the intersection of Gayoso and Ida B. Wells shortly after midnight.
It was there, and after officers tried to disperse the crowd at this location, that police said an MPD supervisor was assaulted by an unknown man. The supervisor sustained minor injuries, according to MPD.
Hours later, officers were called to the area of B.B. King and Peabody Place, police said.
"There will continue to be a heightened law enforcement presence in the downtown area to curtail theses senseless acts of violence," MPD chief C.J. Davis said in a statement. "It is our commitment to bring bad actors to justice to maintain a safe environment in the downtown area for all."
For a lot of people in the downtown Memphis area, news of the incident came as a shock. Heidi Matlock traveled over seven hours from Independence, MO to get to Memphis for Elvis Week and the PGA tour.
Matlock one of the many concerned with the rise of crime similar to Sunday morning across the country.
“Anybody going out, they’re going to be like, is that going to happen tonight?” said Matlock.
The Missourian was staying across the street where the shooting took place. Matlock told ABC24 she heard cars doing donuts outside during the night, before learning what happened in the afternoon.
“I had no idea that when we woke up this morning that it was going to be what it was,” said Matlock, “I’m pro-gun don’t get me wrong, but I know my gun safety…we keep ours locked up but it’s situations like this that give people that are gun owners a bad name.”
This comes as Tennessee lawmakers are preparing to address public safety in the upcoming special session August 21st.
On August 8th, Governor Bill Lee released a list of his priorities for the legislature. Part of his call focuses on mental health reform and safe gun storage.
Lee is already receiving support from state republicans including Representative John Gillespie, who told ABC24:
“I look forward to working with leadership in the Memphis Police Department and the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office to promote safe gun storage and responsible firearms ownership while combating violent crime. I’ll work with Governor Lee and others to improve care for those who suffer with serious mental health issues.”
Meanwhile, there appears to be support for the Governor's mental health expansion proposal coming from state democrats like Senator Raumesh Akbari. The Memphis native is also asking lawmakers to take this conversation a step further.
“I think any additional mental health policies that we are going to put resources behind at a state level is important, but if we’re not going to pass legislation to keep guns out of the hands of people that are a danger to their community and to themselves, then we are really not doing all we can to address gun violence,” said Akbari.
There was no suspect information at press time available from MPD. This is also an ongoing investigation, according to MPD.
Police encourage anyone with additional information related to this incident to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-2274 (CASH) with tips.