MEMPHIS, TN – A 19-year-old suspect accused of killing four victims and wounding three others in an hours-long shooting spree was taken into custody on the evening of September 7th. The suspect, who is also accused of committing two carjackings during the crime spree, reportedly livestreamed portions of his criminal exploits.

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn Davis stated that the suspect, identified as 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly, committed the first seemingly random killing at approximately 12:56 a.m. on September 7th.

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Authorities would go on to respond to three other crime scenes throughout Memphis that same day, where a total of three additional victims were fatally shot and three others wounded. The identity of the victims have not been released as of this writing.

Kelly had reportedly been livestreaming portions of his crime spree, including one instance where the suspect appears to enter a local Autozone and opens fire on one of the customers. Police say the victim was taken to an area hospital and was last reported as being in critical condition.

Authorities received a tip at approximately 6:12 p.m. on the evening of the crime spree regarding Kelly potentially livestreaming the criminal activity on Facebook, with police alerting the public to be on the lookout for Kelly.

Kelly had reportedly killed one woman and stole her grey Toyota SUV, with him eventually ditching the stolen car and carjacking an unnamed man’s Dodge Challenger just across the state lines of Southaven, Mississippi.

A high-speed pursuit eventually unfolded once authorities located the stolen Dodge Charger, with officials saying the pursuit ended in a crash, and a standoff ensued with Kelly initially refusing to get out of the vehicle.

Officials say a SWAT team was called out to the scene of the standoff, with Kelly eventually being taken into custody by deputies from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office without further incident.

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A possible motive for the shooting spree has not been shared by authorities as of this writing, nor have police discussed how the suspect obtained the firearms reportedly used during the multiple shootings.

One of the more controversial aspects regarding the suspect is that court records indicate he’d been released from prison early following a violent crime conviction.

In February of 2020, at the age of 17, Kelly was originally charged as an adult for attempted first-degree murder, aggravated assault, using a firearm to commit a dangerous felony and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon. However, the bulk of the charges were dropped when Kelly pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated assault and was sentenced to three years in prison in April of 2021. By March of 2022, 11 months into his three-year sentence, Kelly was released.

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland highlighted the aforementioned, calling the early release “not acceptable.”

“This is no way for us to live, and it is not acceptable…If Mr. Kelly served his full three-year sentence, he would still be in prison today, and four of our fellow citizens would still be alive.”

This piece was written by Gregory Hoyt on September 8, 2022. It originally appeared on RedVoiceMedia.com and is used with permission.

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