A man died after being shot in Millington Monday, and police say a person of interest is now in custody as detectives work to piece together what led to the gunfire. The shooting happened in the 7800 block of Highway 51.
Millington police said the man suffered a fatal gunshot wound, according to WREG.com. Authorities have not released the identity of the victim or the person of interest taken into custody. Police told the outlet they believe the shooting was an isolated incident between two people who knew each other, and said there is no ongoing threat to the public.
Millington
Millington is a suburb in Shelby County.
The 7800 block of Highway 51 has drawn law enforcement attention before. Federal agents with the Memphis Safe Task Force arrested 26-year-old Carlos Johnson in December 2025 at an apartment complex in that same block, seizing two guns and charging him with aggravated assault and being a felon in possession of a firearm, per the U.S. Marshals Service.
New Police Chief One Week Into the Job
The shooting lands just a week after the Millington Board of Mayor and Aldermen unanimously appointed former Memphis Police Department Deputy Chief Joe Oakley as the city's new police chief on October 12, succeeding Chief Chris Stokes, who retired after nearly 30 years with the department. The shooting came at the start of Oakley's tenure.
The appointment also came amid recent scrutiny of the department's internal operations. In August, Millington Police Lieutenant Bryan Childress, the department's general training instructor, was fired after a Tennessee Comptroller investigation led to a Shelby County grand jury indictment. He was charged with theft and official misconduct for allegedly collecting $2,971.89 in unearned wages and benefits while working private security jobs, according to localmemphis.com.
Other Recent Violence in the Area
Monday's shooting is not the only violent gun incident to hit the Millington area recently. The Shelby County Sheriff's Office arrested 24-year-old Markele Glover earlier this month on attempted first-degree murder charges stemming from a September 18 dispute in which he allegedly shot a 48-year-old household member five times inside their home, as reported by WMC Action News 5
. Hoodline previously reported on a
prior Millington shooting
that left two women injured and a suspect at large.
If charges are ultimately filed in Monday's case, Tennessee law sets out a clear framework for how prosecutors could proceed. A knowing killing without premeditation is classified as second-degree murder under Tennessee Code Annotated § 39-13-210, a Class A felony carrying a prison sentence ranging from 15 to 40 years, according to Davis & Hoss, PC. Under the state's truth-in-sentencing law, Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-501, violent felony offenses committed on or after July 1, 2022, including second-degree murder, require convicted offenders to serve 100 percent of their court-imposed sentence without parole eligibility, per the Tennessee District Attorneys General Conference.
No identity has been released for either the victim or the person of interest in custody, and the underlying motive behind the dispute remains unknown. Millington police continue to investigate the shooting.
