Kids scramble to avoid gunfire in deadly Whitehaven shooting

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – An idyllic afternoon on a residential street in Whitehaven evaporated in the gun smoke of a deadly shooting. Children were forced to run for their lives when the shooting started Wednesday afternoon. The kids were able to get out of the line of fire, but a witness on Haas Avenue tells FOX13 her street was full of children playing when the shooting started,“…Them kids, they were running. They were terrified,” said Irma Henderson, who added she’s lived on the street 16 years. We asked Henderson to estimate how many children were playing in the street when the shooting started, “…It was too many. You could not count them. You couldn’t count them. They were going left, right, left, right,” Henderson replied.

Memphis Police reported that when the shooting stopped, one victim was dead at the scene. Another arrived by private vehicle to a nearby hospital in critical condition. There were no reports of kids injured, and detectives have few leads.

RELATED: One of two men shot in Whitehaven dies, police say

For one Whitehaven resident, Carl Hill, the continuing gun violence is why he said he lives under a cloud of dread, “I am afraid. Not just only for my kids, for everybody’s sake! You know that them kids get their hands on them guns and just wild out!“

Another resident, David Love, says all the shooting in his city defies comprehension: “I don’t understand it. For one thing there’s too much gun violence right along here in Memphis, Tennessee. You know, so much killing going on. They always says there’s something they need to do about it, but they don’t never do nothing about it,“ Love said.

Hill added the continuing gun violence is fueling his fear of youth, “…When I see young kids, I just go the other way. I don’t go that way. The things that I see that’s happening here, I just walk away from it, because that’s all you see. You look at the news every day and that’s all you see, some young person done shot someone. Somebody done got killed. It’s the teenagers! Teenagers, teenagers, teenagers!” Hill said as he threw up his hands.

Detectives spent part of Wednesday afternoon canvassing the neighborhood around Haas Avenue, but there’s still no word on a suspect or motive in the deadly shooting. The names of the victims have not been released. Anyone with information is urged to reach out to Memphis Police or you can call call Crime Stoppers at (901) 528-CASH. You will be given a personal ID number, and your identification will remain completely anonymous. You can also submit your tip at http://www.crimestopmem.org. If an arrest is made, you could be eligible to receive a cash reward from Crime Stoppers of Memphis and Shelby County, Inc.