Eleven people were shot and one is dead following two shootings in the Whitehaven neighborhood of Memphis, Tennessee, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
At around quarter to 1am, officers were called to a shooting at the Live Lounge, on the outskirts of Memphis, where two shooting victims were immediately transported to the local Regional One Hospital in critical condition.
Five additional shooting victims departed the scene and arrived by private vehicle to the hospital in non-life-threatening condition.
While at the scene, officers received information that a second shooting had occurred and victims were at Shelby Drive & Boeingshire Drive, one mile down the road from the nightclub.
One male victim at the second scene was pronounced dead, and an additional three victims were transported in critical condition to the hospital.
There are believed to be 11 victims total between the two scenes, which police say are connected.
Police say, at this time, it is unclear what occurred prior to the shooting and there is no solid description of the suspect.
Further, it is unclear whether the suspects are known to the victims.
Whitehaven is a predominantly black neighborhood of the city with a current population of about 50,000. It sits about 2 miles above the state line with Mississippi.
BREAKING:
Mass shooting in Memphis…
11 people shot includes 1 killed overnight across two scenes — one, Live Lounge in the city’s Whitehaven neighborhood.
Police believe the shootings are connected. No suspect info. Our breaking coverage at 6:55 a.m.
More @FOX13Memphis. pic.twitter.com/icYhzAHhsf
— Dakarai Turner (@Dakarai_Turner) February 19, 2023
In recent years, Memphis has struggled with crime. There were 346 homicides in the city in 2021, and 302 in 2022.
Police chief CJ Davis attributes the declining number of murders to progress the police department has made in relation to gang violence across the city.
‘We had some really significant arrests last year that we think contributed to some of the aggravated assaults,’ she Davis.
‘We think that we’ve made some progress as it relates to some of the gang activity in the city.’
