Reactions of grief, sympathy, and anger mounted Friday morning as new details emerged about a shootout early Friday morning that left one officer and one suspect dead, and three others injured.
Memphis Police Department (MPD) officer Joseph McKinney was killed in the event in Whitehaven. He died at Regional One Health Friday morning. He had been assigned to the Raines Road station.
Three officers investigated a suspicious vehicle around 2 a.m. near Horn Lake and Charter Roads. Two suspects opened fire as police approached the vehicle.
McKinney was shot and killed. Another officer was shot and taken to Regional One and is now in non-ciritcal condition. The third officer was grazed by a bullet, treated on the scene, and is in stable condition.
Both suspects, 18 and 17, sustained gunfire and both were taken to Regional One. The 18-year-old suspect died at the hospital. The other was in critical condition as of Friday morning. MPD did not release the names of the suspects.
The 18-year old-suspect was arrested by MPD in March 2024, according to police chief Cerelyn Davis. He was in a stolen vehicle and carried an illegal modified semi-automatic weapon with a Glock switch attached. The switch converted the weapon to a fully automatic machine gun. He was also charged at that time for two stolen vehicles and having a programming device commonly used to steal cars, Davis said. The suspect was released at that time without bond.
Reactions from leaders have poured out online:
Tennessee Senate Minority Leader Raumesh Akbari (D-Memphis) issued a statement Friday morning.
“This morning MPD Officer Joseph McKinney was killed by gunfire that also injured two of his colleagues,” Akbari said. “Additionally, an 18-year-old is dead and a 17-year-old is in the hospital. Our community is hurting again after another act of senseless gun violence. In this moment, we need to lift up the MPD and the families who are grieving and then come together in finding ways to stop the next tragedy.”
Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9) issued the following statement:
“I am deeply saddened to hear of the death of Officer McKinney, shot in the line of duty this morning,” he said. “Police officers protect society and put their lives in jeopardy every day. Police officers have difficult, often dangerous jobs. We need to keep working to provide them with the resources they need to work as safely as possible.
“I want to express my condolences to Officer McKinney’s family and friends, and my sorrow to the families of the officers injured in this terrible incident.”
