MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Memphis Police are looking for the gunman responsible for shooting up a vehicle downtown.
Danya McMurtrey said she was out with her family in downtown Memphis Saturday night when chaos erupted. She said a shootout took place at the intersection of Peabody Place and South Main Street.
“I just ran around the corner and ducked into, I guess, it was a parking garage,” McMurtrey said.
She said the children in the group were ushered into Margie’s 901 Homemade Ice cream for their own safety.
“My niece comes running out sobbing,” she said.
Memphis Police said when they arrived, they found an abandoned vehicle covered in bullet holes with damage to the front and passenger side at the intersection. Officers didn’t find a victim or a suspect, but they found several phones in the vehicle, along with drugs.
Jessica Bobo, the General Manager of Margie’s 901, said when incidents like this happen, her team has a plan in place to make sure everyone is safe.
“We’re hitting this tourist time. We’re getting a lot of people out. It’s getting warm. It’s to that point where you want to be outside but you want to be safe too,” she said.
Bobo said usually when temperatures heat up, crime ramps up and causes major problems for businesses.
“We want to be able to enjoy ourselves when we come out. The last thing you want to think about is someone shooting,” she said.
Crime in the downtown area has been a major concern for city officials for months. According to the City of Memphis crime tracker, police have responded to nearly 1,000 incidents in the downtown zip code of 38103 this year.
These incidents mainly consist of theft, vandalism, and various assaults.
“We would hope with security and police officers downtown that people wouldn’t do those types of things but we have to be aware,” Bobo said.
No arrests have been made in this shooting. If you know anything, you’re encouraged to contact CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH.