MEMPHIS -- Police in Memphis renewed their call Monday for the public's help in finding out who killed two girls in separate shootings.
Police Director Toney Armstrong told reporters no one has been charged in the deaths of 7-year-old Kristen Williams and 15-year-old Cateria Stokes. The shootings took place in neighborhoods where children walk to school and play outside in the face of dangers such as gang activity and violent crime.
Police don't know if the shootings are related or isolated incidents, Armstrong said. Neighbors have been cooperative but investigators are still seeking clues.
"We need that information regardless of how minute you feel like it is," Armstrong said. "When you get crimes like this, we're literally trying to put together a puzzle, and that piece may be the piece that's missing."
The girls were shot hours apart on Friday. Police said Stokes was struck by a bullet shot from the street outside her house at about 2 a.m. She was sleeping in her bed.
Police said Williams was playing in her front yard with other children Friday evening when a maroon or red Chevrolet SUV drove up and someone in the vehicle started firing shots. Officers found her in a driveway with a gunshot wound.
Armstrong says both families are devastated.
While the shootings reflect a problem with repeat violent offenders roaming city streets with guns, overall crime is down about 6 percent compared with last year, Armstrong said.
"Even with our best efforts, if we are dealing with the same people over and over again, we need additional resources and we need additional help," he said.