Strut ends on deadly note

The Bessie Smith Strut ended in violence Monday night with one fatality and another person wounded.

Dozens of officers in full riot gear faced a crowd, possibly numbering between 100 and 150, armed with sticks, according to police radio reports.

The shootings occurred about 10:15 p.m. at 10 th and Foster streets just as the festival crowd was beginning to disperse, said Ed Buice, Chattanooga Police Department spokesman.

Police said a 20-year-old man was dead on the scene, and a 15-year-old male youth was shot in the right side of his chest and taken to Erlanger hospital, where he was reported in critical but stable condition. Police said the incident occurred after a possible a grudge argument that ended in gunfire. No officer fired a weapon, police said.

Several people have been detained, but no one was charged early this morning.

Each year the Strut concludes with a "sweep," as police on foot and in vehicles move people out of the roadway and onto the sidewalks, Mr. Buice said.

"During tonight’s sweep, fights were reported in at least a couple of locations," he said. "Shots were fired (a block off the festival site), and the shooters left the scene in a car."

One bystander, who declined to be identified, said he watched the fight happen and heard eight to 10 gunshots. "That’s it for me; they won’t see me down here again," he said.

SWAT officers restored order at the scene, and the crowd on MLK was dispersed without additional serious incidents, Mr. Buice said. There were 10 arrests for minor offenses, such as public drunkenness and disorderly conduct, police said.

Sheriff John Cupp, who was at the scene, said, "This is a critical situation ... people’s lives were put in jeopardy. I believe some serious consideration about the future of the Strut will take place after tonight.

"Not only civilians but every police officer that was down there was at risk."

Festival officials were trou- bled by the incidents but said they occurred after the Strut ended.

"It was 30 minutes or so after the event was over," said Chip Baker, executive director of the Riverbend Festival. "Everyone had had a great time, and this was a tremendous misfortune." One bystander, Avery Hubbard said, "That was just wrong, and it doesn’t make any sense." Sherrie Green, 24, from Chickamauga, Ga., said she thinks the incident gives the Strut a bad name. "No good parent would bring a child to this, because something like this happens every year," she said.

Earlier in the day, police Capt. Skip Vaughn said threats of violence are always heard related to the Strut.

"We handle things as they are noted, and immediate action has prevented misbehavior," Capt. Vaughn said.

He said everybody is expected to behave and "if they don’t, we have ways to deal with them." Staff writers Mike O’Neal, Chris Joyner, Kathleen Baydala and Candice Combs contributed to this report.