On Sept. 7 at 7 p.m. CST, the Memphis Police Department released a tweet issuing a citywide search for an unknown shooter.

The suspect was responsible for several shootings and allegedly streamed at least one of those on his Facebook page.

Within an hour, police identified the suspect as 19-year-old Ezekiel Kelly.

Tweet Courtesy: Memphis Police Department

During an early Thursday morning news conference, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis broke down a suspected timeline of the shootings.

After the first shooting occurred, the responding officers found a dead male victim in a driveway at the scene at around 12:56 a.m., NBC News reports.

At this time, Kelly was known by his Facebook alias, Zeek Huncho, according to CNN.

At 4:38 p.m., officers responded to another shooting where they found a man in his vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Video surveillance from this shooting allowed police to identify the car that the suspect was using in the shootings, a grey sedan.

Moments later, at 4:40 p.m., officers responded to a shooting and found a woman with a gunshot wound to the leg. The suspect fled in a dark-colored sedan.

At 5:59 p.m., officers responded to a shooting at a nearby AutoZone, according to the New York Post.

“Ezekiel Kelly was on Facebook Live when he opened fire inside the store,” Davis said, CNN reports.

A short time later, at 6:12 p.m., police received a call from a concerned citizen that someone with the name “Zeek Huncho” was live on Facebook, saying he was “threatening to cause harm to citizens,” Davis said.

 

Upon seeing this video, the Memphis Police Department launched a citywide search for an armed and dangerous suspect and urged residents of a specific area of Shelby County to shelter in place.

Between the hours of 7:23 p.m. and 8:55 p.m., police responded to three more shootings. Two more victims were pronounced dead at the scene.

At 8:56 p.m., police responded to a call regarding a carjacking, in which Kelly allegedly took the car at gunpoint. After allegedly stealing the vehicle, Kelly led the police on a high-speed chase that ended with him being taken into custody while attempting to flee the city.

After Kelly was taken into custody, his family was contacted by the media for comments.

“I found out this evening. I’m shocked just like everybody else,” said his aunt who spoke with The U.S. Sun. “The only person who knows what’s going on with Ezekiel is Ezekiel.”

“He’s got a lot of stuff going on, a lot of deaths around him,” she added. “He wasn’t just going around doing something as a joke. There’s something going on with him mentally, he needs help.”

This was not Kelly’s first run-in with the law.

As reported by The U.S. Sun, Kelly has charges from 2020, including the criminal attempt of first-degree murder, aggravated assault, employing a firearm with intent to commit a felony and reckless endangerment.

Shelby County court documents show he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault. The other charges were dismissed, according to the Sun.

After being tried as an adult, on April 6, 2021, he was sentenced to three years in the Shelby County Department of Corrections.

He was ordered to pay $12,389.50 in fines and costs, and he agreed on a payment plan.

Although Kelly was sentenced to three years, he was released on March 16, 2022. Authorities had reportedly issued a warrant for Kelly’s arrest on Wednesday morning for an incident that occurred on Feb. 3, 2020.

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