A man has been pronounced dead following a shooting in Memphis' Autumn Ridge neighborhood last Saturday night. According to Action News 5, the Memphis Police Department responded to the incident at approximately 8:55 p.m. on Ridge Drive, where they found the victim deceased at the scene.
44-year-old Raffael Newman has been arrested and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the deadly shooting, as WREG confirmed. Along with the murder charge, Newman is also facing theft of a firearm allegations, but a motive for the killing remains undisclosed by authorities.
Memphis has experienced a significant amount of violent crime this year, with at least 100 homicides recorded to date – a decrease from the 121 tallied by this time last year, per the city’s Crime Analytics Dashboard. "89 of the killings this year have been murders," as WREG reported. The count also includes eight justified killings, one negligent manslaughter, and two pending cases. Aggravated assault incidents have similarly seen a decline, though they still number in the thousands.
As found dead on the scene, police efforts to address the surge in violence have been publicly vocalized by local law enforcement agencies. Working with state and federal entities, the U.S. Attorney’s Office of West Tennessee is intensifying its crackdown on crime in Memphis.
Raffael Newman is scheduled for a court appearance today, but no bond is currently set.
