Travis GarthThe man shot in a now-confirmed home invasion on Tuesday has died, Chattanooga police say.
Perry Thomas, 24, was shot and killed after trying to rob a man in a home in the 5000 block of 14th Avenue at around 3:45 p.m., according to court records.
Police arrived and found Thomas lying on the living room floor with a gunshot wound, according to court records. He was taken to a local hospital where he later died.
The man who shot Thomas, identified by police as Edward Garth, 32, has not been charged.
Shortly after his death, Thomas' friends and family took to social media to share photos, videos and messages express their heartbreak.
"Sitting here crying my eyes out bruh I just want my cousin back man why they have to take you away from me," one man wrote.
According to court records, Thomas was one of three suspects who entered the 14th Avenue home.
Edward Garth was doing laundry when Travis Garth, 30, entered the home through the front door, according to court records and police. The two spoke for about 15 minutes before Garth let two more men into the home through the front door.
One suspect was armed with a knife and the other was carrying a bag that contained an "AK-47 style pistol," according to a criminal affidavit. Travis Garth grabbed the firearm and demanded money from the victim.
At that point, the victim grabbed a pistol from under a couch cushion and fired several times at the suspects, court records state. That is when Thomas fell to the floor after being struck by a bullet.
Then, the victim and Travis Garth got into a physical altercation while the remaining suspect ran out of the house, court records show. Finally, the victim retreated to his bedroom and Travis Garth followed the other suspect out of the house.
The victim told police he last saw Travis Garth running away with the AK-47-style firearm in his hands, according to court records. And police found an AK-47-style magazine on the floor in the residence.
Police later found Travis Garth at a home in the 1400 block of East 5th Street, took him into custody and read him his constitutional rights, court records show.
After a lengthy interview, Travis Garth maintained that he was at a separate location at the time of the incident, court records state. But police went ahead and charged him with aggravated robbery, based on the information provided by the victim and evidence corroborating the victim's claims.
The remaining suspect, identified as Darious Woods, 22, was located by police, charged with aggravated robbery and taken to the Hamilton County Jail.
The 14th Avenue shooting was the latest in a string of shootings within Chattanooga and one in East Ridge since Friday.
Two men were injured that day in a shooting at the C&S Market at 1520 Dodson Avenue.
The victims, 20 and 32 years old, were taken to a local hospital, one by ambulance and one by a personally owned vehicle, police spokeswoman Elisa Myzal said.
The 20-year-old sustained critical injuries while the 32-year-old's injuries were described as not life-threatening, Myzal said.
Then on Monday night and early Tuesday morning, four men sustained non-life-threatening injuries in separate shootings.
The first incident was reported at about 5 p.m. Monday in the 3000 block of Shirl Jo Lane. A 17-year-old was found with a gunshot wound.
The boy was transported to a local hospital for treatment, though his condition was not known.
Then, a second shooting was reported just an hour-and-a-half later at 7:33 p.m. in the 1900 block of Garfield Street.
Initially, no victim was found but then police were informed that a 49-year-old man arrived at a local hospital with non-life-threatening gunshot injuries.
The third shooting was reported by a local hospital at 11:03 p.m.
The 21-year-old victim told police he was walking in the 4300 block of Dodds Avenue when he heard gunshots and ran. He then realized he had been shot and got a ride to the hospital, he told police.
In the fourth incident, police again were notified by a local hospital of the arrival of a man with a gunshot wound.
Police responded to the hospital, but the 28-year-old victim was unable to say where he was when he was shot, according to officers.
He said someone in the vehicle in front of him began shooting at him so he left the area and got a ride to the hospital after realizing he had been shot.
The investigations into all of these incidents are ongoing.