Update: Chattanooga police arrest suspect in killing
One person is dead after a shooting Tuesday night at the 800 block of N. Willow Street, police said.
Police arrived on the scene at about 8:15 p.m. and found a victim of multiple gun shot wounds lying in the road. As of press time, the only identifiable trait of the victim was that he is a male.
Chattanooga police respond to calls of people shot in the area of Citico Avenue and Willow Street.Police said there were witnesses to the crime, and they are asking them to step forward and call 423-698-2525. Police are investigating this as a homicide, Chattanooga's first since July 29.
"We need to bring the people who were responsible for this to justice," Assistant Chief Eric Tucker said. "It's very important that you call if you have any information. This was a senseless shooting."
He said police haven't spoken to the family yet.
A significant crowd gathered around the scene. A man, who didn't want to be identified, saw a teenage boy with blue shorts on the street.
"He looked like he'd been playing basketball," he said.
He and his wife were panicking at first. They have a son around the same age.
The large group stood outside the crime scene, trying to figure out what happened. Some looked with blank stares from their porches. Some cried.
As police were still arriving on the scene, a woman came running up Citico Avenue, repeatedly saying "No, no, no," with each "no" louder as she got closer to the scene.
She ducked under the yellow police tape, now screaming.
"Let me hold him! Let me hold him!"
A police officer ran to her and started walking her backward, "Nobody can be in here, ma'am."
"Are you serious?" she repeated, over and over, at first to the officer and then to nobody in particular. She was yelling in hysteria now. "Are you f------ serious?"
Contact staff writer Evan Hoopfer at ehoopfer@timesfreepress.com or @EvanHoopfer on Twitter or 423-757-6731.