MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Surveillance footage shows a shootout in the middle of the day on the streets of North Memphis. A child, who appears to be no older than 10 years old, was caught in the middle of the violence.
The disturbing scene played out last Friday on Yale Road between Raleigh and Bartlett. According to investigators, it started with an attempted robbery over a pair of shoes.
The Memphis Police Department reports a group of five people including the small child tried to rob a man of his shoes, then tried to fight him when he refused to hand them over. The victim allegedly ran into a convenience store and hid behind the counter.
After the group of suspects stepped back out of the store, a surveillance camera captured a person rolling down the window of a nearby car and opening fire at the group.
The suspects were seen taking cover behind another car to get away from the bullets. Some members of the group then pulled guns of their own and returned fire, chasing the car into the street as it drove away.
The violence, though, was not over yet.
The victim eventually left the store, but did not make it far. While he was walking up the street, the group of suspects allegedly pulled up next to him in a black car and accused him of “snitching” on them.
The victim was spotted on another camera running away, then jumping a fence into a yard where two small children were playing. “Let me in, let me in, let me in please!” the victim is heard begging the children as they run inside.
Some of the suspects were caught on camera running around on the other side of the fence, looking for the victim.
The homeowner said she let the victim come inside, then called police after learning what happened.
No injuries were reported. Memphis police ask anyone with information on the suspects to call Crime Stoppers at (901)528-CASH.