A Tennessee law enforcement body is investigating a shooting by police in Memphis on Wednesday afternoon that allegedly killed a man attempting to flee.
Additional details remained murky as city officials handed the investigation to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, but the Memphis Commercial Appeal said the slain man was with one or two other suspects who had crashed a car and then fired at officers.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland tweeted that the shootout highlighted the daily risks faced by law enforcement.
It's unclear why officers were chasing the men in the first place, but the TBI revealed that Memphis police officers shot at the man. It’s up to the city police to identify the cops, the TBI said at a press conference Wednesday night. An off-duty Shelby County sheriff's deputy who was nearby helped the Memphis police.
Officials also said that the man brandished a gun as he ran from police and was not handcuffed when he was shot. The shooting reportedly happened shortly before 3 p.m.
Roughly 20 to 30 gunshots were heard in a south Memphis neighborhood near a church and school, witnesses told TV-station WMC. The other suspect or suspects were at large.
Officials with the Shelby County sheriff's office and Memphis police department didn't immediately answer calls from The Huffington Post.