MEMPHIS, TN (WREG) – A shootout across Memphis ended Wednesday night and Memphis police took away 19-year-old Ezekiel Dejuan Kelly. in custody.
Kelly was arrested at 9:20 p.m., and city leaders held a press conference just after midnight.
Memphis Police Superintendent Cerelyn “CJ” Davis told a news conference Thursday that four people were killed and three others injured in seven shootings and at least two carjackings.
On social media – where Kelly is accused of live-streaming one of the murders – he has used various spellings of the name Zeek Huncho. In a Facebook Live video seen by a WREG staff member, a suspect who appeared to be Kelly was seen getting out of a car, entering an AutoZone and firing shots. The video was later removed from the platform.
In 2020, at age 17, Kelly faced four felony counts, including two counts of attempted murder, one count of reckless endangerment and one count of possession of a firearm, records show. judicial.
Sources told WREG he pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of aggravated assault in the case in 2021. He was sentenced to three years in that case.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said Kelly was released March 16 after serving 11 months of a three-year sentence.
In Wednesday’s shooting, the first murder took place at 12:56 a.m. and officers responded to three more crime scenes before receiving a tip at 6:12 p.m. that the suspect was broadcasting live threatening to harm citizens , Davis said.
Police then sent out an alert warning people to be on the lookout for a dangerous gunman responsible for multiple shootings and reportedly logged his actions on Facebook.
Three more shootings and two carjackings followed. Police say the suspect killed a woman in Memphis while driving his gray Toyota SUV, which he allegedly left behind when he allegedly stole a man’s Dodge Challenger across the border in Southaven, Mississippi.
Kelly was arrested without incident two hours after the initial police alert when he crashed the Challenger during a high-speed chase and two firearms were found in the vehicle, Davis said.
JThe Associated Press contributed to this report.
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