On September 7, 2022, at 7 p.m. CST, the Memphis Police Department posted a tweet launching a citywide search for an unknown shooter.
The suspicious was responsible for several shootings and reportedly posted at least one of them on his Facebook page.
Within an hour, police identified the suspect as 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly.
During a press conference early Thursday morning, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis broke down an alleged timeline of the shooting.
The first shooting took place around 12:56 a.m. and responding officers found a dead man in an alley at the scene.
At that time, Kelly was known by her Facebook alias, Zeek Huncho.
At 4:38 p.m., officers responded to another shooting where they found a man in his vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. CCTV of this shooting allowed police to identify the car Kelly was using during the shooting.
Moments later, at 4:40 p.m., officers responded to a shooting and found a woman with gunshot wounds to the leg. The suspect fled in a dark-colored sedan similar to the one used in the shooting less than four minutes earlier.
At 5:59 p.m., officers responded to a shooting at a nearby AutoZone. “Ezekiel Kelly was on Facebook Live when he opened fire inside the store,” Davis said.
Shortly after, at 6:12 p.m., police received a call from a concerned citizen indicating that a person by the name of “Zeek Huncho” was live on Facebook, saying he was “threatening to harm citizens”. , Davis said.
Upon seeing this video, the Memphis Police Department launched a citywide search for an armed and dangerous suspect and issued a shelter-in-place order for residents of a specific area of Shelby County.
Between 7:23 p.m. and 8:55 p.m., police responded to three more gunshots. Two other victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
At 8:55 p.m., police responded to a call where Kelly attempted to distract a victim at gunpoint. After stealing the vehicle, Kelly led the police on a high-speed chase that ended in his arrest as he attempted to flee town.
Following Kelly’s arrest, her family was contacted by the media for comment.
“I found out tonight. I’m shocked like everyone else,” said her aunt who spoke with The US Sun. “The only person who knows what’s going on with Ezekiel is Ezekiel.”
“There’s a lot going on, a lot of death around him,” she added. “He wasn’t just doing something for fun. Something is going on with him mentally, he needs help.
This wasn’t Kelly’s first run-in with the law.
As reported per The US Sun, Kelly has been charged since 2020 with, among other things, attempted felony first-degree murder, aggravated assault, use of a firearm with intent to commit a crime and reckless endangerment .
Shelby County documents show he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and the other charges were dismissed.
On April 6, 2021, he was sentenced to three years in the Shelby County Department of Corrections after being tried as an adult.
He was ordered to pay fines and costs totaling $12,389.50 – and had agreed to a payment plan.
Kelly was sentenced to three years but was released on March 16, 2022. Authorities reportedly issued a warrant for Kelly’s arrest on Wednesday morning following an incident on February 3, 2020.
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