 | |
Summary Statement
At approximately 1:30 pm local time, reports of an active shooter situation were received at a Kroger Grocery Store located at 240 New Byhalia Rd, Collierville, Tennessee; roughly 25 miles east of Memphis. Open sources stated a gunman opened fire inside the store, resulting in one dead and fifteen others injured. The Collierville store will be closed until further notice.
Attack Overview
In total, forty-four customers and employees were present in the store at the time of the shooting. The gunman entered and opened fire near the deli section, striking one employee in the head, another employee in the cheek, and a customer in the stomach. Employees and customers sought safety in freezers and offices. The shooter, later identified as UK Thang, 29, of Collierville, was found dead at the scene from an apparent self- inflicted gunshot wound. All individuals have since been accounted for.
Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane confirmed in a press release the injured victims consisted of ten Kroger employees, and five customers. Six of the injured remain hospitalized, with three listed in critical condition; the deceased was a customer. An investigation into the shooter’s motive is ongoing.
Suspect
Several open sources report that Thang worked as a third-party vendor in the sushi department, and an employee overheard management discussing the possibility of firing Thang the night before the shooting. The morning of the shooting, Thang was escorted out of the store by management around 9:00am.
Thang’s car remained at the store parking lot while resources were being brought in to inspect it. Memphis police said its officers helped secure the scene, and the FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also responded to assist in the investigation.
Chief Lane stated that Collierville Police detectives and Sheriff’s SWAT, as well as FBI response teams executed a search warrant at the suspect’s residence. Evidence that was taken from that location is being processed. Thang had three prior misdemeanor arrests.
Additional Details
As a precautionary measure, all Collierville schools were briefly placed under a shelter-in-place that has since been lifted after the Collierville Police Department confirmed that the scene was secure.
|
