CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee –
A shooting near a Tennessee nightclub in the early hours of Sunday killed three people and injured 14 others with gunshot wounds and other injuries, police said.
Fourteen people were shot and three by vehicles as they tried to flee the scene, according to Chattanooga police chief Celeste Murphy. Two people were killed by gunshot wounds and one person was killed after being hit by a vehicle. Sixteen of the victims were adults and one was young and several were still in critical condition, he said.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly, who described himself as an “avid hunter” and gun owner, called on Congress to enact “common sense regulations” to address armed violence. Kelly is independent.
“This does not mean removing weapons from responsible gun owners, but it does mean mandatory background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines that allow shooters to injure dozens of people without having to reload,” he said. at a press conference. Kelly said his administration would announce new steps in the coming weeks to reduce armed violence at the local level.
Officers responded to a report of a 2:42 a.m. shooting on McCallie Avenue near a nightclub, and found several victims on arrival. Murphy said officers immediately began providing assistance and securing the scene.
There were several shooters and Murphy asked anyone in the community to have information about the shooting that manifested itself. He said police believe it was an isolated incident and authorities do not believe there is a permanent threat to public safety.
Murphy said it would be a complex investigation in the future.
“We’re trying to determine exactly what happened and what made that happen,” he said.
The shooting comes over the weekend after six youths were injured during a shootout in a downtown Chattanooga shopping district.
“It’s going to be a long summer, and we need to get out in front of it and put an end to it,” Kelly said.