6 teens injured after shooting in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee, mayor says
Authorities in Tennessee said six people were injured after a shooting in a popular downtown district in Chattanooga on Saturday night.
"Six teenagers were shot last night in what we believe was an altercation between other teenagers," Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said in a news conference on Sunday and echoed on Twitter. "And once again, I’m standing here in front of you talking about our community’s youth getting shot."
Though the ages of the victims were not immediately released by authorities, Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy said four people have non-life-threatening injuries and that two people remain in "very, very critical" condition.
Prior to the shooting, Murphy said police had been nearby monitoring "several large groups and what appeared to be a lot of unchaperoned juveniles."
The area, dotted with residential buildings, has restaurants and shops within walking distance and is popular with tourists. Chattanooga police spokesperson Jeremy Eames called it a “very vibrant and active area during summer weekends" in a Sunday news release.
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Murphy said officers rushed to help the injured and to get others to safety when they heard gunfire and saw "multiple parties firing." One person of interest was detained after the shooting, but was later ruled out as a suspect. Murphy said the incident does not appear to be gang related so far, but that has not been ruled out.
Eames said it’s believed not all of the victims were intended targets of the shootings.
Kelly later expressed anger and frustration over the shooting and urged parents to be aware of their child's whereabouts.
"First, I am heartbroken for the families and the victims whose lives were upended last night by gunfire," Kelly said. "No parent should ever have to get that call."
Kelly added: "It’s ridiculous that I even need to publicly state that guns have no place in the hands of our kids and that children shouldn't be wandering around in the middle of the night without supervision."
The Tennessee shooting comes days after an attack killed 21 people — including 19 children — at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. On May 14, 10 people were killed and three were injured in a racially motivated attack at a Tops Friendly Market in a predominantly Black neighborhood in Buffalo, New York.
Contributing: Charles Ventura, Paste BN; Associated Press