MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A vendor is sharing his story after a shooting on Beale Street left him and another person injured Sunday afternoon.
James Postlewait showed us where a bullet grazed his head.
“I’m alright. I’m alright you know, my head hurts, it’s throbbing,” said Postlewait. “It didn’t hit the skull. Thank you, Jesus Christ.”
If you’ve been to Beale Street you may recognize him but you probably know him by a different name.
“Everybody knows me as Bubbles,” he said.
With his cart, he’s been a staple on the iconic street for the last six years, bringing smiles to many.
“Everything I sell is light-up novelties,” said Bubbles. “I got bubble makers. It’s one of my number one sellers. You know everybody loves bubbles, you know?”
An incident involving his cart is what police say led to this crime scene on Beale Street. Officers said Archie Mays shot Bubbles. The bullet also hit an innocent bystander.
Mays and his girlfriend claim a drink was accidentally spilled on his cart.
“That’s not true. What actually happened is the man come up, took his hand, and just went like that (motions to pushing drink.) Just slowly just went like that and knocked my stuff over, I said, ‘What the hell are you doing man? This is my livelihood. This is my stock. What are you doing?’ He said, ‘Man, you ain’t gonna do (expletive).’ I pushed him away from my stuff.”
Investigators said a video shows Mays shooting Bubbles. An innocent bystander who is a cook at a Beale Street restaurant was also shot in the hand.
“You got this guy too. You know he’s a good person and he got hurt worse than me.”
Bubbles thanks those who jumped in to help him and detain Mays and is thinking of those who might’ve lost revenue following the shooting.
“We’re a family there down on Beale Street. Everybody down there on Beale Street looks after each other,” he said.
As Bubbles recovers, he’s thinking of those who might’ve lost revenue following the shooting
“A little nervous, you know what I’m saying but I’m going to always protect my family and always protect my livelihood,” he said. “It’s our livelihood. It’s what puts our kids food on the plates.”
He plans to head back to work soon with this message for the public.
“Beale Street management is doing everything in their power and a lot more for safety down there,” Bubbles said. “People down here, it’s Memphis in May, don’t be nervous about what happened and stuff. Go down there and live your life, have fun, enjoy yourself. Everything is going to be fine, there’s going to be more security and more officers than what you will ever know.”
Bubbles doesn’t have a set date for when he will return to Beale but hopes to have his cart there this week.
Friends and supporters of Bubbles have made a GofundMe for him. If you would like to donate, click here.