UPDATE (June 22nd):
Chattanooga City Council was recently informed of an emergency purchase of cameras by the Department of Technology on behalf of CPD.
This comes after reports of police camera malfunctions the night of a mass shooting on McCallie Avenue.
11 total cameras were purchased, six of which will replace old surveillance cameras.
The other five will be on standby if there's a technical issue.
The total purchase was just over $180,000.
EARLIER (June 7th):
Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy addressed City Council and was faced with questions about a camera malfunction near the shooting.
"We did have a malfunction with the camera in that area," Chief Murphy said. "So we are addressing that immediately for the future."
Murphy also said this is a problem she has to own up to and fix in the future.
The police chief also says that the malfunction didn't delay the investigation, saying CPD has good leads.
We reached out to CPD to clarify if the camera was a police-worn body camera or a street surveillance camera.
UPDATE (June 6th):
On Monday, a viewer sent us a Facebook live video showing the scene around Mary's Bar & Grill shortly before the shots rang out.
Part of that video shows a man holding a gun in a large group outside the establishment before police say 14 people were shot.
Watch a portion of the video:
Police say they have this video and that it's part of their investigation.
Also on Monday, Chattanooga Police released more details about the victims. They did not include their names.
The release says two women, aged 24 and 24, were killed. It also says a 34-year-old man was killed. The release does not specify which 2 of the victims died from gunshot wounds, and which one died after being run over by a car.
The other victims, who were all shot, range in age from 16 to 49:
- Victim 4: Male, 31
- Victim 5: Female, 28
- Victim 6: Female, 33
- Victim 7: Female, 34
- Victim 8: Female, 30
- Victim 9: Male, 26
- Victim 10: Female, 25
- Victim 11: Male, 33
- Victim 12: Male, 32
- Victim 13: Male, 16
- Victim 14: Male, 21
- Victim 15: Female, 49
- Victim 16: Female, 34
- Victim 17: Male, 35
The release says "Investigators are continuing to actively work through what is an incredibly complex investigation."
Police ask anyone with ANY information regarding this incident to call 423-643-5100 or submit a tip via the Atlas One App (formerly the CPD Mobile App). You can remain anonymous. Police say no amount of information is too small or insignificant.
Depend on us for continuing, team coverage of this developing story.
6:30 PM UPDATE:
Watch our team coverage below:
2:30 PM UPDATE:
Chattanooga Police Department is beginning to re-open portions of McCallie Avenue.
We have a crew at the scene:
1 PM UPDATE:
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly and Chief Murphy held a press conference following the shooting this morning. Mayor Kelly is asking for Congress to take action to address the issue of gun violence in the country.
"Our city will put a stop to this,” says Mayor Kelly.
Read his full statement below:
"There's a lot we don't know about what happened this morning, but what we do know is that there are families whose lives have been shattered because once again, we had people deciding to resolve their issues with firearms.
Ginny and I are grieving and praying for the families of those who lost their lives and for those who were injured as a result of this act of violence.
And while we are still gathering the facts, in this case, we know that many of the recent acts of violence in our community have revolved around a very small group of people - often the same people, over and over again.
Here is my message to those individuals: We will relentlessly pursue you with all of the resources we have at our disposal. From forensics to federal support, we won’t stop until you’re in police custody. To anyone thinking about turning to violence, don’t—there will be tremendous consequences for you. I should also note that my administration is fully committed to getting the Chattanooga Police Department all the resources they need to stop this cycle of violence.
Our city will not tolerate people who feel they are beyond the law. And while my administration is working hard to address the economic and social factors that often drive people to turn to violence in the first place, we are also committed to ensuring that those who commit acts of violence will be held accountable.
I’m grateful for the Chattanooga Police Department and for all of the first responders across multiple agencies who acted quickly and courageously to contain the situation.
I am also grateful to members of our City Council for being here today. We are all aligned, and we WILL act, together. Our city will treat this like the crisis it is. Over the next few weeks, my administration will be releasing even more ways our community will address gun violence.
And finally, I am a gun owner. I’ve been an avid hunter and marksman all my life—and so I want to say this clearly, I fully support responsible gun ownership, but Congress needs to do their jobs and pass common sense regulations that will help stop this nonsense. That doesn’t mean taking guns away from responsible gun owners, but it does mean mandatory background checks and prohibiting high-capacity magazines that allow shooters to hurt dozens of people without having to so much as reload. In mass shootings between 2009 and 2020, high-capacity magazines led to 5x as many people shot per mass shooting. This stuff is just common sense. And it’s a simple way we can keep people safe.
I'm tired of standing in front of you talking about guns and bodies. Chattanooga will not tolerate this in our community. Our city can put a stop to it, but each of us has to make the choice to do something. If you know anything, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem, call 423-643-5100—you can remain anonymous, we just want the information.
Stop the shooting, stop the violence. This city and our communities are better than this, and we demand it."
Republican candidate for District Attorney Coty Wamp released the following statement regarding the shootings as well as the continued violent crimes and gang shootings occurring in Chattanooga.
“My office will undoubtedly be handling the cases of those that are responsible for the shootings in the last 10 days. I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll say it again — put a gun in your hand with the intent to harm this community, and my office will seek the harshest punishment that the law allows. You will not receive a break. You will not receive probation. You will go to prison. You’re not just wreaking havoc. You’re not just hurting our city. You’re taking children from parents. Your taking sisters from their brothers. You’re taking grandsons from their grandmother. You’re causing the worst amount of pain imaginable.
We also won’t hide from the word “gang”. This violence is gang related. Period. We cannot fix the problem until we are honest about the problem.
I’ll work with the Mayor and the Police Chief in any way I can. I’ll fight for officers and deputies when they ask for help. But the main thing I am called to do is enforce the law — and I will. That’s my solution. No more leniency. CPD officers, hang in there and thanks for the job you do. Your sleepless nights are recognized, and they mean something."
11AM UPDATE:
Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy says a chaotic scene left 14 shot and 3 people hit by vehicles outside a Chattanooga bar early Sunday morning.
A total of 3 people lost their lives: Two died from gunshot wounds, and a third died after a vehicle trying to get away from the scene ran over them.
Speaking at a news conference just after 11 a.m., Chief Murphy says investigators believe more than one person opened fire.
But she says there is no immediate danger to the public.
Watch Chief Murphy's entire Sunday morning news briefing below:
The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms (ATF) is now helping with the investigation, according to Chief Murphy.
She added that incident was not related to the Riverbend Festival.
There also so far does not appear to be any connection with a shooting that happened 3 miles away, on the other side of downtown Chattanooga, where 3 people suffered non-life-threatening injuries. We'll update our story on that as we learn more.
Chief Murphy and Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly plan to hold another news briefing on this developing story later on Sunday. We plan to stream that event live on this website, as well as on WTVC's Facebook page.
To get our free push alerts for the latest breaking developments: Go to your app store & search the WTVC News app.
More continuing coverage: Scroll further down this story to watch video a woman posted on Facebook that appears to capture the moment gunshots rang out.
9AM UPDATE:
A relative of one of the victims confirms to our crew on the scene that this shooting was a deadly one.
Chattanooga Police have still not released the exact number of people shot, or whether any of the victims had died.
Chattanooga Police say they will hold a news conference at 10:45 a.m. at the downtown precinct. Chattanooga Police say Chief Celeste Murphy and Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly will hold another news conference later in the day.
Depend on us to bring you details as we get them.
Read more of our coverage below:
8AM UPDATE:
Chattanooga Police confirm there are 'multiple victims' from a shooting near a Chattanooga bar on McCallie Avenue Sunday morning.
Right now, we're still working to learn exactly how many people were shot. Police describe the injuries of several of the victims as 'life-threatening.' We anticipate they will reveal more details later on Sunday, so check this story for updates.
Click our photo gallery above to see more pictures from the scene.
Facebook video appears to show gunfire
Viewers have pointed us to a woman's Facebook live post that appears to show the moment that shots rang out near the bar:
(Note: The above-embedded post may have been deleted by the user by the time you read this).
In the 11-second clip, you can hear more than 20 shots ring out as the woman dives to safety in her car. Other people can be seen outside the car running away.
The Facebook account Tabby Tab shared several live updates on her page in the early morning hours that show she was in the vicinity of the bar on McCallie Avenue.
She posted the video featuring the gunfire just after 3 a.m. Chattanooga Police were called to the scene at some point in the previous half-hour. We have reached out to Tabby Tab to learn her perspective on what happened.
Live from the crime scene
Police remained on the scene and had closed off McCallie Avenue as of 8:30 a.m.
It's not clear how long investigators will remain there, nor do we know when Chattanooga Police will reveal more details. We continue to work to get updates.
Watch Bliss Zechman's live update from the scene at 8:15 a.m.:
A paramedic tells us on Twitter that Erlanger and Children's Hospital were both locked down early Sunday morning. We're working to confirm that with hospital officials.
We continue to work to get updates.
Also developing: Read more about an apparently unrelated shooting that left 3 people hurt near Fort Street about 3 miles away that happened earlier on Saturday night.
Depend on us to keep you posted.
AS OF 6AM:
We have a crew on what is a 2-block-radius crime scene working to learn more.
A spokesman for Chattanooga Police told us in an email just before 7 a.m.,
There have been multiple people shot on McCallie. Several of them are life threatening injuries. I don’t have much more than that at this time.
In what appears to be a second, unrelated incident, Chattanooga Police also say 3 people were shot in the area of Fort Street, about 3 miles away. Those injuries are not life-threatening, according to the CPD spokesman.
An officer tells us police were called to Mary's Bar & Grill on McCalie Avenue at about 2:45 a.m.
Bliss Zechman reported live from the scene at about 6:30 a.m.:
She also gave an update live on Facebook:
McCallie Avenue is closed as of 6:30 a.m. while the investigation continues.
We're working to confirm details about what happened.
There are also officers at nearby Parkridge Hospital.
Keep checking this story for updates.
Download the free WTVC news app from your app store and sign up for push alerts. We'll send new alerts as we get updates.
Depend on us to bring you new details on this developing story as we get them.