A chaotic scene erupted as authorities in Tennessee investigated a shooting involving members of a regional fugitive task force.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) said on Twitter last night that its agents were on the scene of a shooting in Memphis. The state police agency said the shooting involved the Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, which includes the U.S. Marshals Service and other law enforcement agencies.
The Daily Memphian reported that after the shooting heavily armed police faced off against an angry crowd. Rain and tear gas had dispersed most of the crowd by 11 p.m. as officers on horseback patrolled the area.
Memphis Police Department officers were called in to help with traffic control and several officers received minor injuries due to individuals throwing rocks and bricks, the department said on Twitter. No Memphis police officers were involved in the shooting.
The police have not confirmed the identity of the victim or whether he was killed.
But Shelby County Commissioner and mayoral candidate Tami Sawyer said on her Twitter page that Brandon Webber “was shot 16-20 times in his family’s front yard.”
“Every life lost should matter...every single one. How many times will this be ok? It cannot continue to be,” Sawyer tweeted early Thursday.
Police cordoned off a several block area near the shooting and lines of police cars with flashing blue lights were parked along the street. An ambulance could be seen at the outer edge of the scene. A helicopter flew overhead as police cars trickled out of the area.
TBI public information officer Keli McAlister said on Twitter last night that she was in the area but there would be no update “for some time.”
