MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A Midtown man says he’s lucky he wasn’t seriously hurt when a gunfight broke out near a short-term rental on his street Wednesday afternoon.
The man, who didn’t want to be identified, said he had just pulled on Carr Avenue when he heard gunfire and felt pain in his leg.
He said he saw at least two people in a black Infiniti firing a gun toward a male crouched in front of the vacation rental in the 2000 block of Carr and saw the person by the house return fire.
The victim was only grazed by a bullet he found inside his car.
“It went through a trash can, through my passenger side door, and hit me. It felt like someone punched me in the kneecap, and I’m lucky enough to where it’s literally just a skin burn,” he said. “I am the luckiest unlucky person on the street right now.”
Other neighbors said they heard multiple gunshots, and one witness said they saw as many as four people inside the Infiniti and one of the suspects holding an AR-15.
One vehicle parked along Carr and at least four houses, including the vacation rental, were damaged by bullets. Police said they found shell cases inside homes on Carr and Diana Street.
“It sounded like the apartment complex behind my house is under construction came crashing down collapsing down, it was that loud,” said a man who lives on Diana. “I ran toward the front of the house. I heard it more definitively. It was definitely gunfire.”
Police said a woman told them the rental home was an Airbnb, and she had hosted a party at the house the night before. She said she believed some of the partygoers were responsible for the shooting but didn’t know them personally.
A woman who lives next to the short-term rental said police found spent shell casings on her walkway.
“One of my neighbors called me, and I came home from work early, and the police had the crime scene tape up,” said the neighbor. “I asked if I could go to my house and bring my car closer, and they said yes, just not to step on the shell casings.”
Police said they also found two backpacks full of guns, apparently dumped by the suspect in the backyard of a house behind the vacation rental. Among the weapons were two stolen handguns with machine gun conversion switches, a Draco, and a black Spikes AR pistol.
Police also found one 80-round magazine with 223 live rounds, one 30-round AR magazine, one Glock magazine with 21 rounds, one Glock 22 rounds magazine, one Glock 13-round magazine, an iPhone, and clothing.
A man who lives at the home where the firearms were found said a teen in a black sedan tried to collect the bags with the guns, but he wouldn’t let him in his backyard.
Police have not said if they were able to find any surveillance video in the neighborhood of the shooting. If you have any information that can help investigators, call CrimeStoppers at (901) 528-CASH.