MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A woman is facing several charges after firing a gun at a Memphis police officer.
It happened Tuesday night, on April 20th. According to Memphis Police Department, Officer R. Schmidt pulled over Rhonda Lynn Rawls on Summer Avenue for a traffic stop. Rawls pulled over in a nearby Autozone parking lot. When Officer Schmidt approached the vehicle, police say she pulled a semi-automatic handgun out the window and fired several shots. Officer Schmidt fired back and the vehicle sped off.
The incident was captured on in-car camera and police body camera. Shortly after, Rawls arrived at Regional One Health Center with a gunshot wound to her left side.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigations arrived at the AutoZone parking lot to investigate the shooting. They questioned a passenger who was in the car with Rawls.
TBI also found the weapon Rawls used to shoot at police and found a nearby vehicle that had been hit. Investigators determined that the vehicle's passenger side window was hit by a bullet from the gun Rawls fired. Two passengers were also in that vehicle.
Rawls is facing several charges including Criminal Attempted First Degree Murder TCA, Reckless Endangerment, Employment of a Firearm during the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, Criminal Attempted First Degree Murder TCA and Convicted Felon in Possession of a Handgun.
NEWS RELEASE FROM THE TBI:
A Memphis woman has been charged with multiple counts in an ongoing investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into an officer-involved shooting on April 20th in Memphis.
At the request of 30th District Attorney General Amy Weirich, TBI special agents continue to investigate the circumstances leading to the shooting, which involved an officer from the Memphis Police Department and occurred during a traffic stop in the 4300 block of Summer Avenue. Evidence gathered by TBI indicates that, as the officer approached the vehicle, he stopped on a license plate violation, the driver shot at him, after which he returned fire. The driver, identified as Rhonda Rawls (DOB: 6/2/83), then sped from the scene and, more than an hour later, arrived at a Memphis hospital with a gunshot wound.
On April 22nd, TBI agents secured warrants, charging Rawls with Criminal Attempted First Degree Murder, Reckless Endangerment, Employment of a Firearm during the Commission of a Dangerous Felony, and Convicted Felon in Possession of a Handgun. On Sunday, after being released from the hospital, authorities booked her into the Shelby County Jail – East Women’s Facility on $1,000,000 bond.
The TBI’s investigation into this incident remained active and ongoing at the time of this release.
