Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly expressed a mix of sorrow and outrage in response to shootings that left six teenagers injured downtown Saturday night, while the city’s new police chief said her department is working nonstop to track down those responsible.
Police Chief Celeste Murphy said officers were patrolling downtown just before 11 p.m. when gunfire erupted in the area of 100 Cherry St. and 100 Walnut St. Murphy said a gun battle appeared to erupt between two groups of young people. She said one group appeared to target a single person from the other, meaning that most of those hit were probably not intentional targets.
Murphy said officers were trying to render aid to those who had been struck while getting other teens to safety.
The police chief and mayor spoke at a news conference Sunday at police headquarters.
“Six victims were struck by gunfire,” Murphy said. “Four of them have nonlife-threatening injuries, and two of them are very, very critical. There was a person of interest that was detained last night. That person has been ruled out as a suspect. Investigators have reviewed all video that we know about.”