Police say latest outbreak of Chattanooga shootings are gang-related

One person was injured Monday evening in a shooting on Third Street.
One person was injured Monday evening in a shooting on Third Street.

Monday night's shooting on Third Avenue happened on the street where 9-year-old Shariff Benford lives.

"I was right out here playing when I heard a pop like a gun or firecrackers," Benford said Monday night while standing in her front yard. "I heard that sound and ran inside."

Shariff Benford and her mom, Freddie Mae Benford, said it's common for boys to gather on this part of the street, directly behind the Salvation Army and just a block away from the East Lake Courts public housing project.

"These boys are usually trouble," Freddie Mae Benford said shaking her head.

Police received a call Monday night reporting shots fired on the 28th block of Third Avenue around 7:15 p.m., and by 7:30, a male victim, 19-year-old Johnathon Black, with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound to his ankle was loaded into an ambulance.

Neighbors filled the street, talking amongst themselves and watching as police combed through the scene behind yellow police tape.

"You'll be alright little homie," one neighbor shouted as the ambulance doors closed.

"I heard at least seven shots," a man who lived in the Courts said.

"These shots are getting to be normal," another lady muttered before turning to walk home.

Monday night's shooting follows in the wake of a weekend of gunfire; four victims were shot in the course of 12 hours in three separate shootings late Saturday night and early Sunday morning.

Kyle Miller, spokesman for the Chattanooga Police Department, said each of this weekend's shootings are believed to be gang-related, and police are working to determine alliances and the relationships these separate groups have to each other.

Police believe the shootings are connected, according to Miller, and law enforcement presence has been increased in specific areas in anticipation of any possible retaliation.

"Violent Crimes Investigative teams, Neighborhood Policing teams and Street Crimes Response Teams have been actively canvasing areas of interest and gathering intelligence," Miller said in a written statement.

Chattanooga Police responded to a call on Saturday night concerning shots fired at 3940 Camellia Drive and found Charles Jackson, 23, and Kia Pines, 21, suffering from non-life-threatening gunshot wounds, according to police.

Early Sunday morning, police responded to 600 North Willow St. and found Delvante White, 18, shot in his right shoulder.

Just hours later, police received reports of a person shot outside of Bootsie's nightclub, located at 1201 East 37th St. Tremail Harmon, 25, was treated for a non-life-threatening gunshot wound in this shooting, according to police.

As of Monday night, no arrests had been made in any of these shootings, and Miller said he had no solid suspect information to release.

Monday's shooting took place just a block from where the owner of New East Side Market, 51-year-old Wonsik No, was shot and killed on Labor Day.

Freddie Mae Benford said she has lived in the same house on Third Avenue for the past 17 years and the she is noticing a drastic increase in gunfire.

Standing in her front yard on Monday night, Benford looked at the crime scene located just 100 feet from her driveway and said she hopes this shooting will "hit close to home" and motivate her neighbors to do something.

"Something has got to stop," she said. "Some of those shots could have hit my kids. I pray for their safety every morning."

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