MEMPHIS, Tenn. — We’re learning more about the latest shooting that took place on a busy Memphis interstate.
Two people went to the hospital after police say they had 17 bullets fired into their car on Interstate 40 near the Jackson Avenue exit Thursday afternoon.
Johnny Tate couldn’t believe his stepson was on the other side of all the bullet holes.
“He’s lucky to be alive,” said Tate.
Police say Tate’s stepson was behind the driver’s seat of a red Mitsubishi that was shot up. That Mitsubishi was a rental car.
He told police he was in the middle lane on I-40 when a white Nissan Maxima with tinted windows pulled up on the right lane and started shooting.
“He got grazed in the leg and he said he got grazed in the arm too.”
Police say his passenger in the car was also shot multiple times in the chest and arms.
Once he realized they’d been hit, they drove to the hospital. They’ve both since been released and are recovering.
“I was saying he was a blessed guy.”
Tate says he was told this was a random act.
“He said he was just driving, they started shooting, somebody just pulled up and starting shooting.”
It would be the third random shooting on I-40 in two weeks.
“I’m concerned about it but you know, if he said he doesn’t know who did it, it’s like we had that shooting out there with the girl last week where she doesn’t know who did it.”
Police say they believe people involved in this incident knew each other.
They released a statement asking drivers to remain vigilant of their surroundings and if overly aggressive drivers approach, to pull away from them and call police.
“We’ve been having a lot of that on the news lately, you know, on the interstate so you got to be careful.”
We reached out to police trying to get some clarification on the different accounts of this shooting but have not yet heard back.
The suspects are still out there, so if you have any information that can help, call Crime Stoppers at 528-CASH.
