MEMPHIS, Tenn. — A rideshare driver was shot in an attempted carjacking at the Memphis International Airport Monday, according to airport officials.

A little after midnight, the Memphis Airport Police responded to a shooting in the cell phone lot on Jim McGhee Parkway and Winchester.

According to a witness, the driver was approached by four males wearing masks. They were driving a gray or white sedan.

The driver was taken to Regional One.

Police are saying this is an isolated incident, but rideshare drivers in the area say more needs to be done to keep everyone safe.

“They say all of a sudden, some guys pulled up pretending that they had a flat tire and they got out with guns,” A man named LB said.

LB, a fellow rideshare driver, spoke with WREG as he waited in the cellphone lot for a pickup; the same lot where he said his friend was nearly carjacked around midnight.

“They asked one guy how to drive the car,” LB said. “They didn’t know how to drive it and this one friend said something to him and he shot him in the leg.”

The lot is advertised on the airport’s website as a “waiting area that is safe, convenient and seconds from the terminal.”

LB said that he doesn’t exactly agree with that description.

“They need to have better security close up, not so far away,” LB said.

WREG drove around and didn’t see any surveillance cameras in the lot. Instead, only the flashing lights of a security car several feet away.

“They laugh at me because when dark come, I come over here because it’s well-lit,” LB said. “But this part is still dark.”

Even in daylight, LB said he’s not taking any chances.

“In this city, I don’t do Uber hardly, but in the airport, I will,” LB said. “But now, I have nowhere else to go.

The airport released the following statement about the attempted carjacking:
“This appears to be an isolated incident and the investigation by MAPD and the Memphis Police Department is ongoing. The safety of our employees, passengers and vendors is our top priority.”