MEMPHIS, Tenn. — MPD detectives are looking for suspects following a triple shooting in North Memphis overnight.
The shooting happened around 11:30 p.m. Thursday in the 1500 block of Britton St. near Chelsea Ave. and McLean Blvd.
The news came just one day after the Tennessee Bureau of Investigations released new statistics showing that violent crime in the city is on the rise.
“That’s very sad,” said Marry Tillis, who lives just down the street.
One of the victims tells police she was sitting in her truck – and her husband and his friend were standing outside – when someone walked up and started shooting.
“Yes, it concerns me because it’s too much shooting around here,” said Evia Harris, who was dropping her great-grandkids off at a daycare only a block away from where the shots rang out.
The woman and one of the men were grazed by bullets and her husband was shot, then police say the gunman ran down the street, got into a car and took off.
For the people who live in this neighborhood, the violence has sadly become a way of life.
“I hear about shootings all the time,” Harris said. “They allow them to have guns, so they’re going to be shooting.”
People who live nearby say that while it’s scary, they’re not surprised.
“It’s so common nowadays, so nothing that happens surprises me,” Tillis said.
This week, the TBI released new statistics that show violent crime – like homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault – are up across the city by more than three percent.
And even though the area where this latest shooting happened has a neighborhood watch group, the people who live here say it’s obviously not enough.
“I think if they would do a curfew or something like that to have people in at a certain time, that might help,” Tillis said.
But Harris is left wondering what – if anything – will stop the violence.
“What can we do to prevent it?” Harris asked. “Everybody has to work together.”
Police say one of those men is in critical condition at the hospital, but the other man is expected to be fine.
They haven’t released a description of the suspect, but say they’re looking for a silver late model four-door car.
If you know anything, call Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH.
