Memphis Mayor Blasts Facebook-Streaming Mass-Killer's Early-Release: "4 Of Our Fellow Citizens Would Still Be Alive"
Early release despite prior violent crimes: "If Mr. Kelly served his full three-year sentence, he would still be in prison today..."
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland
Memphis Mayor Blasts Facebook-Streaming Mass-Killer's Early-Release: "4 Of Our Fellow Citizens Would Still Be Alive"
BY TYLER DURDEN
THURSDAY, SEP 08, 2022 - 09:05 AM
Wednesday night's hours-long Memphis shooting rampage, part of which 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly live streamed on Facebook, came to an end shortly after 9pm, Memphis Police Chief C. J. Davis confirmed in a Thursday morning press conference.
Memphis police had urged citizens across the city to stay indoors, identifying Kelly as "armed and dangerous" in a 7pm social media post and city-wide alert. It all began at around 12:56 am with the killing of a 24-year old man in his driveway on Glendale Avenue, and went on to include a total of at least eight separate shootings throughout the day and evening, which left four dead and three injured.
The rampage included Kelly going up to strangers sitting in parked cars and shooting them execution-style, or in their driveways, or random pedestrians on the street. At one point he Facebook live-streamed himself going into an AutoZone to shoot a middle-aged man at close range.
Before walking into the store he rants "no faking, this shit for real," according to the livestream, which was quickly soon thereafter taken down by Facebook. In another clip while driving a stolen car, he's seen yelling about "justice".
Local media described his apprehension by police as follows:
According to Southaven police, a Dodge Challenger was stolen at a Raceway gas station on Stateline Road just before 9 p.m. The driver of the car recognized Kelly as the suspect and ran off.
A brief high-speed chase had ensued, resulting in Kelly crashing his stolen car, and that's when he was taken into custody.
The New York Post observes that the killing spree happened at a moment people in the state are saddened and outraged over another grisly and senseless killing: "Kelly’s alleged shooting spree struck a nerve for many Memphis residents who were already reeling from a recent spate of violence and high-profile killings, including the abduction and murder of Tennessee school teacher Eliza Fletcher."
This outrage is growing as it's been revealed that Ezekiel Kelly had recently been released from jail very early where he'd been serving a violent crime conviction. Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland in fresh statements acknowledged that he'd been let out early on March 16, having served a mere 11 months of a 3-year sentence for aggravated assault.
Mayor Strickland voiced the frustration of many citizens in revealing the following:
In June 2020, Kelly was arrested on charges of attempted first-degree murder, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault, according to public records.
He was sentenced to three years, but was released this year on March 16 after serving just 11 months, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said.
The mayor slammed the courts for Kelly’s early release. "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," Strickland said.
It’s unclear why Kelly was released early.
Numerous felony charges are pending against Kelly, as police still process the many crime scenes left in the wake of the homicidal rampage.
Police have released a timeline of the shootings according to the below:
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