MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police are looking for the people responsible for shooting a man in the head as he was driving on I-240 Monday night.
Believe it or not, that wasn’t the only reported shooting happening on Memphis interstates on Memorial Day.
The most recent incident was reported Monday night when a man told police he was driving his truck on I-240 near the 385 interchange. He said a dark gray Nissan Altima pulled up beside him. A person inside pulled out a gun and started shooting. At least five rounds hit his truck before the car took off.
The driver who was shot was alert enough to tell police what happened. The other passengers in his pickup — one of them just 14 years old — weren’t injured.
Another woman tells us her family was driving on the I-40 flyover around 3 in the afternoon when they heard a pop. They later discovered their camper had been shot.
Rachael Schmidt says her family was driving from Hot Springs, Arkansas back to their home outside of Jackson, Tennessee after the long holiday weekend, so it took them a few hours to see the damage.
“It’s really scary, you know you should feel safe on the highway at least driving through,” Schmidt said.
She’s figuring out what to do next.
“I called Memphis PD and they said we would have to bring our camper all the way back to Memphis so that they can file a report and, I guess, take pictures. I called my insurance company of course,” she said. “I just wanted to make sure you know Memphis knew what was going on.”
We’ve been working for months to find out how many shootings have been reported on Memphis interstates. In February I submitted a public records request asking for the number of shootings in 2018 compared to 2017.
Until recently we’ve been told it’s not been determined if the records responsive to the request exist — but back on May 13, we were told the records were being reviewed and redacted and we should have another response by May 28.
Schmidt just hopes something is done.
“I just hope that Memphis PD does something. Either install cameras, catch whoever is doing this because I know that this is not the first time that this has happened, it’s probably not going to be the last.”
Memphis Police say at this time they do not believe the victim in last night’s shooting knew the suspect.
They said there is an increased police presence on the interstates and they’re encouraging everything to call them if they see anything or are a victim of violence.