MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Police worked eight shootings in less than 24 hours in Memphis and say the warm winter weather may be responsible for the increase in the violent crime.
Thursday afternoon, officers responded to the shooting of a 14-year-old boy on Kerr Avenue in South Memphis.
On Wednesday night, police were busy with four separate shootings. The incidents happened between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., involving at least four victims.
Among them were a child who was riding in her mother’s car in the 900 block of Mosby Avenue in North Memphis when she was hit by a bullet and a man who crashed his car after being shot by someone along Raintree Drive in Hickory Hill.
A neighbor on Raintree, who didn’t want to be identified, said she heard the gunfire and hit the floor.
“And the young man was just hollering, screaming, ‘I’m finna die, I’m finna die.’ It was just chaos everywhere, and when I say chaos, I mean chaos everywhere,” said the woman.
Another neighbor snapped pictures after the car crash and said an ambulance took more than thirty minutes to arrive.
“So much crime in Memphis there is not an ambulance available,” she posted on Facebook.
Researchers around the globe have long linked higher temperatures to crime rates.
In a study published by the Journal of Criminal Justice in 2023, researchers found that upward temperature swings are associated with increased crimes like robbery and homicide, while downward temperatures suppress crime.
“Early research established a strong association between warm weather and violent crime,” said Christopher Thomas, an assistant professor of criminal justice at Rutgers University–Camden. “Studies over the years have further explored and supported this relationship, showing that violence typically peaks in the summer.”
The study analyzed weather and crime data from 28 U.S. cities from 2015 to 2021.
Bill Gibbons, the president of the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission told WREG that in 2024 we had over 13,000 reported victims of aggravated assault. MPD says 70% were with guns.
2024 data shows gun crime was down in Memphis compared to 2023, but it is still unacceptably higher than just a few years ago.
“We are not there yet. Overall, the trend was good compared to 2023. 2023 was a terrible year,” said Gibbons.
So far in 2025, there have been more than 800 agg assault cases reported.
Police are still investigating the recent shootings. If you know anything that can help detectives, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.
