What was supposed to be a routine Sunday wrap-up on Beale Street turned into a crime scene, and Memphis police say they still are not done making arrests.
Detectives are asking for the public’s help identifying an additional suspect in a March 20 shooting near Beale Street and Rufus Thomas Boulevard that left a woman with a gunshot wound to the leg. The gunfire broke out late that night as crowds were spilling out of downtown bars and clubs. Police have already charged three people in connection with separate downtown shootings from the same night and are still working to determine whether the cases are linked.
Police Search For Additional Suspect
Investigators this week released surveillance images of a person of interest and put out a fresh call for tips, according to Action News 5. The outlet reports the Beale Street shooting happened around 11:46 p.m. on March 20, with the victim being hit in the leg by a single round.
Police say anyone who recognizes the person in the video or has information about the shooting should contact CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH. Tipsters can remain anonymous, and in typical fashion, cash rewards are on the table if the information helps close the case.
Arrests Made After Two Downtown Incidents
While that suspect remains at large, officers did not leave downtown empty-handed the night of March 20. Two shootings hit the entertainment district in quick succession, and police moved fast on at least one of them.
The first shooting went down at about 11:15 p.m., Action News 5 reported. Officers say they tracked a suspect to a stairwell, where they found a backpack that held a handgun and roughly a pound of marijuana.
Police later identified D'Shawn Heffner and two 20-year-olds, Sadat Muhammad and Ezell Howard Jr., among those charged in the fallout from the downtown violence. According to authorities, Heffner was booked on theft of property tied to an allegedly stolen firearm, while Muhammad and Howard face reckless endangerment charges. Investigators have not yet publicly said whether those arrests are directly tied to the Beale Street shooting that injured the woman.
Downtown Safety And Police Response
The burst of gunfire has once again put a spotlight on safety in the city’s marquee nightlife district. The Daily Memphian notes that the two downtown shootings happened less than an hour apart and left a teenage boy critically injured and a woman wounded.
It is the kind of headline city and business leaders have been trying to avoid. In recent months they have pushed for more visible patrols and a downtown command center to monitor crowds in real time. Officials say those resources are now in play as detectives comb through footage, follow up on tips and try to connect the dots between the two incidents.
MPD says the investigation is very much active and that more arrests are possible as new information comes in.
How To Help
Anyone with information about the March 20 shootings is urged to come forward, especially if they were recording as the crowds broke up.
Anonymous tips can be submitted to CrimeStoppers of Memphis at 901-528-CASH. Witnesses can also call the Memphis Police Department’s non-emergency line at 901-545-COPS.
Investigators say photos or videos that show the person of interest on or near Beale Street that night could be crucial. Anyone reaching out is asked to mention the March 20 downtown cases so their information is routed directly to the unit handling the investigation.
