As officials seek ways to curtail gun violence, Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly disagrees with how his counterpart in Hamilton County government, Weston Wamp, characterized a shooting on the night of Sept. 28 that killed 38-year-old businessman Christopher Wright.
“I had a number of people reach out who live or work downtown and really took exception to the fear-mongering, honestly,” Kelly said in an interview at City Hall on Friday.
Kelly said there’s been one murder in Chattanooga’s central business district this year, and the city intends to increase downtown police patrols in response to the incident.
The day after the shooting, police arrested Darryl Roberts, who has faced more than 60 criminal charges since the early 1990s. Older charges include assault, aggravated robbery and theft. The shooting occurred in the 1000 block of Market Street near Patten Towers apartments, where police say Roberts lived.