Four killed in hourslong Memphis shooting rampage before suspect arrested, police say

Memphis, Tenn. — A gunman who livestreamed himself driving around Memphis shooting at people, killing four and wounding three others in seemingly random attacks, was finally arrested after crashing a stolen car, police said early Thursday.

The hours-long rampage had police warning people across the city to shelter in place, locking down a baseball stadium and university campuses and suspending public bus services as frightened residents wondered where the man might strike next.

Memphis Police Director Cerelyn "CJ" Davis said four people were killed and three others were wounded in seven shootings and at least two carjackings before Ezekiel Kelly was arrested without incident at around 9 p.m.

CBS Memphis affiliate WREG-TV reports that the suspect got into a standoff, refusing to get out of the vehicle, which police surrounded. The SWAT Team was called in to assist. Memphis police say the suspect was taken into custody with the help of Shelby County Sheriff's deputies.

Kelly, 19, was released early from a prison sentence for aggravated assault, court records show, raising a sore point between the city's mayor and the county's top prosecutor that played out before the cameras at an early Thursday news conference.

"This is no way for us to live and it is not acceptable," said Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, who later pounded the podium as he demanded accountability. "If Mr. Kelly served his full three-year sentence, he would still be in prison today and four of our fellow citizens would still be alive," he said.

The first killing was at 12:56 a.m. Wednesday, and officers responded to three more crime scenes before receiving a tip at 6:12 p.m. that the suspect was livestreaming himself threatening to cause harm to citizens, Davis said.

In one clip from the video, the suspect casually speaks to the camera before opening the door to an AutoZone store and shooting someone inside with what appeared to be a pistol. That man was taken to a hospital in critical condition. In another, a man narrates himself driving - "green light, green light" - and sings "no faking." At one point, he fires two rapid bursts of gunfire out the driver's window while driving. Referring to police, he says he's going to "go down to the valley, shoot it out with them in the valley."