MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two of the three people arrested in connection to the shooting death of 7-year-old Kelby Shorty remained in jail Monday.
Deputies say it was a Crime Stoppers tip that led them to a Tipton County home where one was hiding.
“Here we have people injured, a child killed for what? It’s much worse than a crime. It’s totally irresponsible and it’s too many guns on the street,” said Buddy Chapman, the Executive Director of Crime Stoppers.
Each day, we are learning more about the tragic Fourth of July shooting in North Memphis that sent two people to the hospital and took the life of seven-year-old Kelby Shorty.
Jordan Pittman and Angieline Kennedy are charged with first-degree murder along with several other charges.
Adonis Wright is charged with accessory after the fact, and he is accused of helping Pittman hide from police.
Kennedy was captured over the weekend in a Covington home thanks to a tip from Memphis Crime Stoppers.
“This is solved with a tip. We solve a number of cases and I’m glad to say they’re up. I think the pandemic had some measure of impact on the number of tips we’re getting but we can’t get too many,” said Chapman.
Chapman says the details of Kelby’s death highlight why it’s so important for people to speak up if they know something.
Court documents show this started with a fight at a nearby gas station and ended on North Montgomery when someone in the car Kennedy was driving shot up a home.
Several kids inside were forced to hide in a closet to escape the gunfire.
Kelby is one of more than 70 children to be shot this year and one of the more than 140 murders in our city this year.
Chapman says Crime Stoppers tips can’t only be for children if we truly want to put a stop to the senseless violence in our community.
“I just cannot stress to the public there is virtually no crime committed that someone doesn’t know something,” Chapman said. “What we need to have people speak up about is enough is just enough is enough.”
WREG-TV spoke with Kelby’s family on Monday. They said they are glad people are coming forward with information.
His funeral is Wednesday, and they hope and pray the additional persons of interest wanted in his death are found before they lay him to rest.