Chattanooga police investigate weekend shootings; 4 people injured

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Chattanooga police are seeking leads in shootings over the weekend that left four people wounded - including a 15-year-old who was shot in the head and remains in critical condition.

"[There's] no indication that the shootings are related," said Master Patrol Officer Nathan Hartwig when asked.

The first shooting took place early Saturday morning and left 25-year-old Terrance Harris - a Rollin 60s Crips gang member - wounded in the abdomen while walking in the 2300 block of Windsor Street. Ricky C. Rogers, a Vice Lords gang member, was shot at the same location in July, records show.

The next shooting happened early Sunday when 19-year-old Tramelvin Simmons was shot in the ankle at 1202 Greenwood Road.

For the fourth time this year, police responded to an event hall on Main Street for reports of someone shot.

Terry Pullom, 25, was shot in the ankle after someone began firing shots into a crowd of people just after 3 a.m. at 2510 E. Main St.

Police submitted a file of incidents to Hamilton County District Attorney's Office last month in hopes of proving the venue may be deemed a nuisance by a judge and shut down. Prosecutors sent the file to the city attorney's office. As of Monday, attorneys had not made a decision to take the case to court.

Wade Hinton, city attorney, said the city is evaluating local laws that might be used to regulate after-hours venues. It's unclear if there are plans to change the laws.

"We're close. We want to make sure we do our best to do it right," said Hinton when asked about possible legal changes.

Mayor Andy Berke's administration will have a plan to present to the City Council in a few days.

In the meantime, police continue to respond to disorders, and sometimes shootings.

"We're aware of it, and we're moving forward in trying to address the problem," Hinton said.

Also Sunday, police responded to a shooting call just before 6:30 a.m. and found a 15-year-old boy shot in the back of the head in front of a residence at 1209 Sheridan Ave. He remains in critical condition.

As of Monday there have been at least 85 shootings with 100 victims this year that have been investigated by police. At the same time last year, there were 60 shootings with 69 victims.

Anyone with information about any of the shootings is asked to call Chattanooga police at 698-2525.

Contact staff writer Beth Burger at 423-757-6406 or bburger@timesfreepress.com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/abburger.