Memphis police capture alleged gunman after live-streamed shooting spree

There has been a major update in the hunt for the alleged shooter who allegedly live-streamed the crimes on Facebook.

A man who allegedly killed four people and injured three others in a Memphis shooting spree that police claim was live-streamed has been arrested.

Ezekiel Kelly, 19, was taken into custody after crashing a vehicle he hijacked. He is believed to have been injured in the crash, and was initially trapped in the car.

Memphis police officers said they found two weapons in the vehicle Mr Kelly was driving.

The 19-year-old is alleged to have killed his first victim just after midnight on Wednesday local time, and gone on a shooting spree across the Tennessee city in the afternoon and early evening, Memphis police officer Cerelyn Davis said.

There were at least eight different crime scenes, police said, including carjackings and a shooting at a local store.

Memphis shooting suspect Ezekiel Kelly. Picture: Supplied by police

“Ezekiel Kelly was on Facebook Live when he opened fire inside the store,” officer Davis said.

Memphis Police earlier warned Mr Kelly was armed and dangerous and had issued a “shelter in place” order while the shootings were ongoing, effectively locking down parts of the city.

At least three shootings had been reported in Memphis as of 7.52pm local time, a deadly shooting at a BP gas station on South Parkway, a 24 year-old killed on Lyndale Ave and a woman who was critically injured after being shot on Norris Road near I-240.

Mr Kelly claims to have shot five people in a Facebook Live video seen by television station FOX13.

Memphis Police tweeted around 7pm alerting the public.

The City of Memphis issued an urgent plea to citizens telling them to take cover.

“If you do not need to be out, please stay home!” the city tweeted.

pic.twitter.com/oFj7eUn6LG

— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) September 8, 2022

Unverified footage appeared to show Mr Kelly ranting into the camera inside a vehicle, saying “this is for real” before he got out and walked into a store and shot someone walking towards him.

The University of Memphis went in lockdown, as are fire stations, who will attend call outs with a police escort, while Mr Kelly was at large.

The United States regularly sees mass shootings and other gun violence, but Congress has been reluctant to pass strict gun control legislation as the issue remains politically divisive.

At least 490 people have been killed in mass shootings and mass murders in the US in 2022 so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive, with 14,050 people dying in gun-related incidents over the same period, excluding suicides.

Memphis has seen a string of high-profile killings in recent months, including the murder of a pastor during a carjacking and the abduction and murder last week of a woman who was on a pre-dawn run.

“I am angry. I am angry for (the victims) and I’m angry for our citizens who had to shelter in place for their own safety until this suspect was caught,” said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland following Wednesday’s shootings.

“This is no way for us to live, and it is not acceptable.”

— With AFP

Originally published as Memphis police capture alleged gunman after live-streamed shooting spree