Police are searching for a 23-year-old suspect in a fatal shooting that occurred early Thursday morning in a quiet Brainerd neighborhood.
Investigators identified the suspect as Andrew Graves, who is charged with first-degree murder and considered armed and dangerous, police said.
Police say Mr. Graves shot and killed Michael Newby, 24, at his 1236 North Concord Road duplex.
“We are not yet sure why the suspect shot the victim, and what their relationship was,” said Capt. Tim Carroll, head of the Chattanooga police major crimes division.
Mr. Graves was arrested on charges of marijuana possession in 2007 and domestic violence in 2009, police spokeswoman Officer Rebecca Royval said.
Officers were called to the North Concord Road home about 4 a.m. Thursday by a juvenile female, who was inside during the shooting. She told police that, when Mr. Graves came to the front door, Mr. Newby ran out the back. Mr. Newby re-entered the home through the front door and then was shot in the head, police were told.
Mr. Graves left the scene on foot, said Capt. Carroll. The witness told police she was at the house with the victim and two other witnesses when the shooting occurred. None of the witnesses’ names have been released.
Investigators said they found the victim lying face-down behind his front door with a gunshot wound to the head. He was pronounced dead at the scene by Hamilton County EMS personnel.
Capt. Carroll said there is no indication that the crime was drug- or gang-related.
Investigators searched Mr. Graves’ last known address, but they did not find him there.
Police said Mr. Graves may be driving a white 1996 Buick Skylark with Tennessee tag 379 WFN.
Mr. Newby’s neighbors said they did not know him, but neither he nor his friends ever had given them any trouble.
Neighbor Matrika Saintaude said the residents of the home “had friends over all the time, but I didn’t think much of it because they’re young kids.”
Don Musick, who has lived in the neighborhood for 14 years, said there has not been a formal Neighborhood Watch program in years because it’s the kind of place where neighbors look out for each other.
He said the neighborhood is home to many elderly people who have lived in their houses since the 1960s. But many of the houses on North Concord now are rentals, and traffic has increased with a new nearby housing development and an apartment complex under construction, he said.
“In my profession I see a lot of things,” said Mr. Musick, who said he’s a funeral director. “But when you turn on the news and they’re showing a picture of your neighborhood and you see the caution tape and then the police tell you someone’s been murdered — it’s spooky.”
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