Update Dec. 23 at 12:06 p.m.: A Chattanooga man who said he was shot in a road rage incident on I-24 was actually shot by a passenger in his own vehicle while exiting the interstate, police say.
Malcom Blessingreen, 30, was shot in the hand and received medical attention.
Justin Sheppard, 26, was arrested for the shooting, according to a release from the department following a preliminary investigation.
No motive was released.
Blessingreen previously told the Times Free Press he was shot from a passing vehicle but was quickly pulled away by police Saturday night and told not to talk to a reporter. Another officer on scene said investigators would not be willing to provide details to the public about the incident at that time.
___
Three shootings were reported in Hamilton County Saturday afternoon and evening stretching from Soddy-Daisy to downtown Chattanooga to a car driving down Interstate 24.
Staff photo by Mark Pace/Chattanooga Times Free Press — Police respond to Exit 178 after a man was shot in the hand while traveling down Interstate 24 Saturday evening. At least three people were shot Saturday in Hamilton County.A man who would only identify himself as a 30-year-old from Chattanooga was shot while driving on Interstate 24 through town Saturday evening in what he said he believes was a road rage incident, he told the Times Free Press.
The man was shot in the right hand, which had been treated at the scene.
"They just drove past and shot me," he said. "They started shooting into the car. The bullets was going through the window. One hit my hand. I think it was like road rage. I don't know if we swerved in front of them or what happened."
The victim was quickly pulled away by police Saturday night and told not to talk to a reporter. Another officer on scene said investigators would not be willing to provide details to the public about the incident.
The victim pulled off the interstate onto the left shoulder of the Fourth Avenue ramp at Exit 181. Police officers stood near a vehicle at the scene while others searched the surrounding area with flashlights.
The victim said the shooter's vehicle was a dark-colored sedan. He did not get a look at the shooter, he said.
The man, who would not give his name, said he has never been involved in anything like what happened Saturday.
"I don't have no idea who did it," he said. "They just rolled by shooting."
Meanwhile, police investigated the scene but would not provide details. Preliminary findings are typically released by the department once completed, and this story will be updated with those details.
Earlier in the day, a person was shot less than a mile away on East 26th Street. The victim was taken to an area hospital but is expected to be OK, according to Times Free Press news partner WRCB-TV.
Within minutes of that shooting, a person was shot in Soddy-Daisy in the 13800 block of Mount Tabor Road. Their condition is unknown, but a suspect was arrested, according to a Hamilton County Sheriff's Office spokesman.
Contact staff writer Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook at ChattanoogaOutdoorsTFP.