Even as family members and friends laid a victim of gang violence to rest Saturday afternoon, another spasm of shootings broke out across the city, wounding three people.
Chattanooga police belief the wave of gunfire is connected to the slaying and are heavily beefing up their street presence this weekend in response, Police Chief Fred Fletcher said.
“We have increased patrols. We have dedicated info about where to put them. We have overtime officers in hot spots. We have specialized officers being reassigned. We have officers that you will not see out there looking for the people driving this violence,” Fletcher said at an impromptu news conference. He wore a bulletproof vest ahead of going out on patrol himself.
He said authorities believe at least two of the shootings were directly connected to the slaying of 22-year-old Robert Jackson III, a validated gang member who was shot to death leaving Sky Zoo nightclub on April 10.
Jackson’s funeral procession was held Saturday, but while the line of cars rolled down Wilcox Boulevard, retaliatory shootings flared up just a few miles away, police said.