A South Memphis block woke up to blue lights and camouflage early Thursday after reports of shots fired on Spring Shadow Drive just after 1 a.m. Memphis police and members of the National Guard crowded the street as officers worked the scene. Officials have not yet released information about injuries or suspects.
According to Action News 5, Memphis Police responded to the gunfire call on Spring Shadow Drive shortly after 1 a.m. on May 7. The station reported National Guard members were on scene and that no additional information was immediately available.
National Guard Part Of Multi-Agency Task Force
The Tennessee National Guard has been working alongside federal and local partners in Memphis as part of the Memphis Safe Task Force, an initiative launched to focus enforcement on violent crime and remove illegal firearms from neighborhoods. The U.S. Marshals Service says the MSTF is made up of federal, state, and local agencies alongside the Tennessee National Guard. Per the U.S. Marshals Service, the task force has recovered more than 1,100 illegal firearms since it began.
Residents See Repeated Heavy Responses
Local reporting shows similar large MPD and Guard responses in South Memphis this month, with officers sealing intersections and canvassing homes after overnight gunfire calls. Hoodline documented one such sweep that left streets taped off and stirred questions about the increased military presence assisting local police; that earlier write-up captured the same pattern of a rapid, large response in the neighborhood. See coverage of the earlier gunfire scare that locked down a South Memphis block for prior details.
How To Help Investigators
Investigators ask anyone with information or video to contact CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH (2274) or the Memphis Police non-emergency line at 901-545-COPS. The Memphis Police Department lists those reporting options on its website for submitting tips or anonymous information to assist ongoing investigations, per the Memphis Police Department. We will update this story when officials release more details.
