MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Two people were injured in a shooting outside of an East Memphis restaurant Tuesday afternoon.
It was a chilling moment for those inside Big Bad Breakfast as an employee holiday party turned into the center of a crime scene.
Victoria Franklin works inside the restaurant. She was in the kitchen when Memphis Police say a man and woman were shot in the parking lot of the shopping center at Poplar Avenue and International Place around 2:15 in the afternoon.
“We just saw people running and we found out somebody had gotten shot,” she said.
A manager told us the victims were leaving the restaurant when they noticed someone was trying to steal their vehicle. That’s when people say the man and suspects exchanged fire.
“Everybody was terrified. I’m not even gone lie. They had kids up by the window and when the shots happened everybody freaked out and ran to the back of the building,” Franklin said.
The victim’s car is allegedly this red Dodge Charger with what appears to be a bullet hole on the passenger side and a busted-out window.
Officers placed more than a dozen evidence markers in front of the vehicle before towing it away.
“I saw a young lady that was standing right here. She was being held up by two others and they were administering first aid and a gentleman over here who had an injury to his knee,” Franklin said.
The victims, a man and a woman, were taken to Regional One in critical condition but were later upgraded to non-critical.
With Skycop cameras surrounding the area, MPD was able to manually retrieve video from the crime scene.
Big Bad Breakfast told us it’s also looking to invest in more cameras. John Currence, the owner of Big Bad Breakfast, addressed safety concerns for staff and customers, saying:
“This is an equally scary and infuriating event. I could not feel worse for the guests who were victims of these multiple crimes or any more angry that this sort of behavior is happening in, historically, one of the more secure neighborhoods in Memphis and in BROAD DAYLIGHT.
It is our intention to see to it that our store is as well protected as possible for the sake of our guests and our people. The addition of exterior cameras and addition of security guards are already being discussed. It could not be more upsetting that this is what we have to turn our attention to. In a time when we are dealing with already unprecedented challenges, the fact that we don’t know whether the walk to or from our car is safe is appalling.”
John Currence, Founder of Big Bad Breakfast
Investigators say the suspects were driving a black Infiniti sedan.
If you know anything about Wednesday morning’s armed robbery incident, you are urged to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.