After a string of shootings in Memphis on Wednesday that left four dead and three injured, including one that the gunman live-streamed on Facebook, authorities claimed the insane shooter was apprehended.
Authorities claim that Ezekiel Kelly, 19, who has a violent criminal history, started his claimed rampage just before 1 a.m. and frightened the city until after sunset until being apprehended during a police chase at around 9:30 p.m.
According to officials, he is facing many felony accusations.
At a late-night press conference revealing Kelly’s alleged shooting spree, Memphis’ police chief, Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis, remarked, “This has been a dreadful week for the city of Memphis.”
In a 7 p.m. announcement, Memphis police first cautioned the public to avoid Kelly because they described him as “armed and dangerous.” post on social media.
Davis added that since then, police have linked the alleged killer to at least eight different shootings.
According to the police chief, Kelly is accused of shooting and killing a 24-year-old guy in his driveway on Glendale Avenue at 12:56 in the morning.
After the first murder, Kelly allegedly went on a shooting rampage for many hours, killing people at random and inciting the terrified locals to take cover.
He is accused of shooting a man many times when he was sitting in his car on South Parkway East around 4:38 p.m. At the scene, the individual was pronounced deceased.
Kelly allegedly shot a woman two minutes later near Norris Road and Interstate 240. She was wounded by a bullet to the leg and sent in stable condition to a local hospital.
The madman started fire at an AutoZone store on Jackson Avenue just before 6 o’clock, according to police, who also livestreamed the incident.
Kelly can be seen getting out of a car, taking a few steps inside the AutoZone store, pulling out a revolver, and firing twice at a man inside the store in a screen capture of the Facebook broadcast that was widely circulated on social media.
The man was shot and sent in critical condition to the hospital.
Kelly shouts to the camera about “no fake, this sh- for real” before entering the business, according to the livestream.
Soon after Memphis PD issued a public alert about Kelly and the vehicle he was allegedly driving, a citizen swiftly informed authorities about the footage.
Kelly allegedly carjacked a woman and shot her along Poplar Avenue and Evergreen Street shortly after the warning was issued in order to transfer automobiles. He allegedly shot the victim around 7:23 p.m. and took off in her car, a grey Toyota SUV. WREG claims that the victim passed away at the site.
Officers discovered a second shooting victim a minute later at Poplar Avenue and McLean Boulevard.
Police discovered a woman with gunshot wounds on West Raines Road about 8:55 p.m. At the scene, she was pronounced deceased.
Kelly allegedly committed a second carjacking after crossing the state line. At a service station in Southaven, Mississippi, close below Memphis and across state lines, he allegedly held a driver at gunpoint hostage and took his Dodge Challenger. The driver wasn’t hurt at all.
A high-speed chase that culminated with Kelly crashing the vehicle began when authorities saw the Dodge Challenger travelling north on Interstate 55 a short time later. Without incident, the cops took him into jail.
Two weapons, according to the police, were found in the automobile.
Residents were instructed to stay indoors if they didn’t have to be outside while Kelly was on the run. Public bus service was also discontinued, and two universities were put on high alert while Kelly continued his murderous rampage.
All students at the University of Memphis received a message informing them that a shooting had been reported close to school, and Rhodes College, which is located about 4 miles away, instructed both on-campus and off-campus students to take cover.
In the end, Kelly was detained in Memphis’ Whitehaven neighbourhood, which is around 11 miles from Rhodes College and 12 miles from the University of Memphis.
He can be seen driving while brandishing a weapon in a livestream broadcast.
While much of what he says is unrecognisable, a Facebook account linked to the suspect in the police photo contains several ominous postings about death.
Since then, the account has been deleted.
According to available information, Kelly was detained in June 2020 on suspicion of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, and attempted first-degree murder.
According to Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, he was given a three-year sentence but was released on March 16 after only serving 11 months of that time.
The mayor slammed the courts for Kelly’s early release.
“If Mr. Kelly served his full three-year sentence, he would still be in prison today and four of our fellow citizens would still be alive,” Strickland said.
