MEMPHIS, Tenn. — An unsanctioned car show over the Memorial Day weekend ended with four people being shot.
Memphis Police confirmed on Tuesday they did not know about the event before it started. The department said officers began showing up after getting calls about disturbances along Chelsea Avenue.
RELATED: 5 injured, victim arrested after shots fired in North Memphis, police say
One woman, Day Lauren, who attended the event, told FOX13 that it was all in good fun at first.
“It was really good morale; the community was active; the dancing was done in celebratory causes,” she said.
She said there were easily hundreds of people there.
“The streets were flooded — candy-coated cars everywhere. It was nice,” she said.
DANGEROUS DRIVING: MPD reports multiple arrests over Memorial Day weekend
Many of the videos posted to social media showed cars doing burnouts and donuts. We were also told there was some street racing too.
As the day went on, the fun started to take a turn.
Day Lauren said she was there for hours and witnessed a 19-year-old dancing on a red Infiniti while it was moving.
“I saw that girl dancing on the car. They rode up and down the street a few times, honestly, and it was highly encouraged,” she said.
Memphis Police said that teen was given a citation for a seatbelt violation, and the driver of the car was charged with driving with a suspended license. The car was ultimately towed.
But it didn’t stop there. MPD said they also witnessed a maroon Charger doing donuts and then driving away from the scene and crashing less than a mile away.
Two men in the car tried to run away from the crash but were arrested and charged with evading arrest and drug and gun charges.
Day Lauren told FOX13 that she wasn’t there when the shooting happened close to 11 that night, but she was devastated that such a fun day had to end in gunfire.
“For us to be able to get out and embrace each other, I would love for us to do that without violence, with peace, with unity,” she said.
Download the FOX13 Memphis app to receive alerts from breaking news in your neighborhood.
Trending stories:
©2022 Cox Media Group
