9 recent shootings not linked, police say

Police say they haven't found a thread connecting the nine shootings in Chattanooga this year.

"We haven't put any of the shootings together, but we haven't ruled that out," said Chattanooga police Sgt. Bill Phillips, who heads the homicide division.

The shootings have taken place all over Chattanooga, from out near the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport to near Rossville Boulevard on the south side and the Avondale and Bushtown communities.

One common theme, however, is the boarded-up houses and closed businesses that line sections of the neighborhoods where many of the shootings took place.

This time last year, eight shootings had been reported, police said. Since that time, seven of those shootings have been cleared through arrests, police said.

So far this year, police have reported seven shootings, but they do not count those without injury.

Of the eight shootings with injuries reported this year by the Chattanooga Times Free Press, one resulted in death. Bystander Jonathan Lawrence was killed at the Kanku's gas station on Jan. 9.

Two people were victims of drive-by shootings while in their homes.

SHOOTINGS IN 2010Feb. 21: 1900 Rossville Ave. Denzel Lloyd, 18, shot in the leg while walking to his car when group of males in an blue SUV pull up next to himFeb. 21: 1900 Wilson St. Minnie Moore, 77, shot in the arm and back when bullets pierce her kitchen wall as she makes coffee.Feb. 14: 4115 Dorris St. Gweniqua Strickland, 22 is sitting on her living room couch when shots from outside her home hit her in the arm, leg and abdomen, killing her 5-month-old fetus.Feb. 15 and 17: 905 Woodmore Terrace. Shots strike the walls of Jeffrey Simmons' home both days; no one injured.Feb. 11: 3810 Sherwood Lane. Darius Robinson, 21, while driving home from the Kanku's gas station on Wilcox Boulevard, is shot in the thigh after a gray Ford Taurus pulls alongside him and an occupant begins firing.Feb. 6: 1501 Roanoke Ave. Terry Marshall, 39, is shot in the chest and is unable to speak with police at the time of the report.Jan. 27: 2008 Bennett Ave. Glen Bailey, 21, is shot twice by his girlfriend's brother after an argument.Jan. 9: 3440 Wilcox Blvd. Jonathan Lawrence, 42, dies on the scene when a bullet fired at another man strikes him in the head at a Kanku's gas station.Jan. 5: 3403 Fourth Ave. A J&C Quick Stop store clerk shoots a juvenile in the wrist as the juvenile attempts to rob the store; juveniles are not named by police.Source: Chattanooga Police Department

Minnie Moore, 77, was shot one Sunday morning in her kitchen while making coffee.

"I didn't know I was shot," she said Monday afternoon. "Until my grandson woke up and told me I was bleeding from my arm."

Six bullet holes dot the outside kitchen wall at her Wilson Street home, and a shot broke a window.

Gweniqua Strickland, 22, lost her 5-month-old fetus when she was shot on her living room couch on Valentine's Day.

"We haven't been able to find a reason why she would be a target," Sgt. Phillips said. "Possibly somebody else in the house or somebody who should have been in the house was the target."

Three blocks from Ms. Moore's home, 39-year-old Terry Marshall was shot in the chest on Feb. 11.

Two other shootings involved shooters driving alongside victims then firing on them.

On Sunday morning, Denzel Lloyd, 18, told police he was walking to his car from an alcohol-free, youth-oriented dance at Loose Cannon Art Gallery when an sport utility vehicle pulled up next to him and one of its occupants shot him in the leg.

Terry Cannon, owner of the art gallery, said the business rarely hosts youth-oriented events.

"They're rare, and they're about to become even more rare," he said. "We're real selective about what we do and who we allow to have events here."

He's already canceled and refunded the deposit to another group that had scheduled a youth dance at the facility for later this week.

Mr. Cannon worried his gallery would be compared with other venues that have come under scrutiny.

"I don't want people to perceive us as a place that has constant oversights, violations and trouble," he said

After police responded to 344 service calls in a three-year span at or near Club Fathom on Market Street, Chattanooga Mayor Ron Littlefield intervened and club operator Tim Reid agreed to halt youth-driven events last summer.

Mr. Cannon pointed out that youth events make up a small percentage of the types of events he holds at the gallery. Many events are private birthday parties, arts-centered events and nonprofit fundraisers, he said.

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