MEMPHIS, TN (abc24.com) - With three teens shot over just a few days, MPD Director Toney Armstrong wants to get guns out of the hands of Memphis youth.
Two 18-year-olds were taken to The MED in critical condition just days after a 17-year-old was killed outside a high school basketball game.
When Memphis Police arrived at Jardin Place and Ridge Valley in the Hickory Hill area on January 16, 2012, they found one 18-year-old shot; they found a second 18-year-old gunshot victim just up the road. The brother of one of the victims said one teen was shot in his neck, the other in his stomach.
The night before the shooting in Hickory Hill, 17-year old Terrence Wilkins died after being shot at a high school basketball game Friday night. According to police, Wilkins was killed during a fight with another teen.
A South Memphis store is raising money to help the family bury Wilkins. The owner said it's a story seen all too often: kids and guns lead to kids in cuffs and kids in caskets.
Now Director Armstrong will meet with Memphis City Schools to review policies and adjust security where needed.
"We have to do something to get guns out of the hands of young people," he said. "We heard time and time again guns and young people don't mix. This is the perfect example; if you put a gun in an immature adolescent an argument escalates to this."
Police have one suspect in custody for the shooting on Jardin. Wilkins' killer is still on the loose.
