Cops: Man Driving Around Memphis on Shooting Spree Arrested

Residents had been warned to shelter in place
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Sep 7, 2022 8:47 PM CDT
Updated Sep 7, 2022 10:29 PM CDT
Man Is Driving Around Memphis Shooting at People
Memphis police officers are seen Monday, Sept. 5, 2022.   (Mark Weber/Daily Memphian via AP)

Update: Police in Memphis, Tennessee, said a man who drove around the city shooting at people during an hours-long rampage that forced frightened people to shelter in place Wednesday has been arrested, the AP reports. Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly was taken into custody after 9pm in the Whitehaven neighborhood. That was about two hours after police sent out the initial alert. No motive has yet been revealed, and it's not clear how many people may have been injured or killed. Our original story from earlier Wednesday follows:

Police in Memphis, Tennessee, warned residents to shelter in place as a man drives around the city shooting at people on Wednesday night, the AP reports. Memphis police said a 19-year-old man driving a light blue Infiniti was responsible for multiple shootings in the city. Police said he later switched vehicles to a grey SUV. It was not immediately known if anyone had been killed. Police said he was still at large and he was recording his actions on Facebook. He has been identified as Ezekiel Kelly, Fox 13 Memphis reports. The station says that in one video, he is seen walking into an AutoZone, aiming the gun at a man, and pulling the trigger. In that video, he claims to have shot five people.

The University of Memphis sent a message to students saying a shooting had been reported near the campus. Rhodes College, which is about 4 miles away from the university, advised students on and off campus to shelter in place. “If you do not have to be out, stay indoors until this is resolved," Memphis police said on Twitter. The Memphis Area Transit Authority has halted bus and trolley service indefinitely due to the "current danger," MATA said in a statement.

(More Memphis stories.)

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