MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG)– A shooter killed four people and injured three during a rampage that began early Wednesday morning and then picked up again around 4 p.m.
Ezekiel Kelly’s first crime took place around 1 a.m. at a home on Lyndale Avenue. He killed Dewayne Tunstall, 24, according to Memphis Police.
The shooting spree then picked back up Wednesday afternoon with Kelly putting some of it on social media, including a hit at a Nutbush area AutoZone store on Jackson Avenue around 6 p.m.
“Ezekiel Kelly was on Facebook Live when he opened fire inside the store,” Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis said.
After the store shooting, police got a tip from the public that put the city on lockdown, Davis said.
“We received information from a concerned citizen. The suspect was on Zeke Honcho’s Facebook live stating he was threatening to cause harm to citizens. At this time, the MPD launched a citywide search,” Davis said.
That also prompted police to tell people to stay inside, she said.
WREG crews saw restaurants closed up in Overton Square and local activities shut down, including the Memphis Redbirds game.
In all, Kelly made seven stops between 4:30 and 9 p.m., Davis said. In that time, he killed three more people, injured three more people and carjacked at least two vehicles, one with weapons inside.
Here are the stops police said he made:
- Soulsville, 4:38 p.m.: a man was found shot dead in a vehicle at a gas station in the 900 block of South Parkway E. Surveillance video revealed a man in a gray sedan pulled up next to the victim’s car and opened fire.
- South Memphis, 4:40 p.m.: a woman was injured in a second shooting on Norris Road near I-240. The suspect fled in a dark sedan.
- Nutbush, 5:59 p.m.: Kelly walked into an AutoZone store in the 4000 block of Jackson Avenue and shot a man while live-streaming on Facebook. The man was in critical condition, police said.
- Midtown, 7:23 p.m.: a woman was killed in a shooting at the corner of Poplar and Evergreen. Police said Kelly took her gray SUV and fled.
- Midtown, 7:24 p.m.: a man was shot and injured at Poplar and McLean.
- Southwest Memphis, 8:55 p.m.: a woman was shot dead near 800 West Raines Road.
- Southaven, Miss., 8:56 p.m.: Police responded to a carjacking at Stateline Road and Highway 51. Kelly took the man’s gray Dodge Challenger and left the SUV behind.
- Whitehaven, 8:58 p.m.: Memphis Police officers spotted the Dodge Challenger going northbound on Interstate 55, and began a high-speed pursuit which ended at Hodge and Ivan Roads, where Kelly was taken into custody without incident.
“This has been a horrific week for the city of Memphis and the MPD,” Davis said.
The chief thanked the public for helping them catch Kelly and expressed her condolences to the families of those affected, reassuring people he is now in custody.
