A man seriously wounded in a stabbing outside a North Memphis gas station managed to reach a nearby fire station for help this week, and police say the attack has now led to an arrest. The victim made it to Fire Station 17, where crews treated him for severe wounds before he was rushed to a hospital in critical condition.
Police say the stabbing happened at the Fuel Turbo station on North Highland Avenue, according to WREG. The victim told police he was attacked by a man on a bicycle who went by the name “Shy,” giving investigators a crucial early lead as they worked to identify a suspect.
Surveillance Footage Leads Police to a Vacant House
Using that description along with surveillance video, the Memphis Police Department identified the suspect as 53-year-old Ohli Turley. According to an affidavit of complaint, officers tracked him down hiding inside a vacant house on North Holmes Avenue, where he was found with a bicycle and wearing clothing that matched what was seen in the surveillance footage.
Investigators said Turley had small cuts and dried blood on his hands when he was taken into custody. Police have not said whether a weapon was recovered at the scene or during the arrest.
Attempted Murder Charge, $250,000 Bond
Turley was charged with attempted second-degree murder and was being held on a $250,000 bond. He was scheduled to appear in court Thursday, though it remains unclear what the outcome of that hearing will be. In Shelby County, court operations staff assist the General Sessions Criminal Divisions and Criminal Courts with decisions on bond and case disposition, according to Shelby County, Tennessee.
A Violent Crime That Bucks a Broader Trend
The stabbing comes as Memphis continues to post encouraging numbers on violent crime overall. The city recorded fewer than 200 murders in 2025, the first time it hit that mark since 2019, according to the Memphis Police Department. Shooting-injury incidents also fell sharply, with 643 recorded in 2025, a 38% drop from the year before.
That decline has carried into 2026. The Commercial Appeal reports that Memphis's overall crime dropped 23.8% in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2025, while aggravated assaults fell 29.3%. Simple assaults, however, ticked up 4.3% over that same stretch, a reminder that not every category of violence is trending downward even as the citywide picture improves.
MPD has said its focus for 2026 is to “sustain the gain” built from enforcement operations like the spring 2025 effort that resulted in 370 arrests and the recovery of 59 firearms. For the man who stumbled into Fire Station 17 seeking help, that broader progress offers little comfort as he recovers from a critical injury and waits to see how the case against his alleged attacker proceeds.
