Pubdate: Thu, 13 Jun 2002
Source: Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
Copyright: 2002, Denver Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.rockymountainnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/371
Author: Woody Baird, Associated Press Writer

CHILD DEAD IN MEMPHIS SHOOTING AFTER DRUG DEAL GOES SOUR

MEMPHIS, Tenn.- A 3-year-old girl died Wednesday after a man opened
fire on a home with a high-powered, semi-automatic rifle following a
drug deal that went sour nearby, police said. Eight other people,
including five children, were hurt.

The girl, whose name was not released, was shot in the chest, said
police spokeswoman LaTanya Able.

A 59-year-old woman also was critically injured, Deputy Police Chief
Bob Wright said.

He said a group of young men got into an argument about a block away
from the home and one of them fled, crossing over backyards and
running into the house at 3448 Rosamond Street, near the Memphis
National Cemetery. It was unclear whether he lived at the house.

Some of the men got into a car and followed the man. At least one of
the men got out of the car and opened fire on the home, spraying
bullets into windows, a door and the home's brick exterior.

"We know it's over a small quantity of drugs," Wright said. "We don't
know who sold who what."

He said the argument was over the quality of the unspecified
drugs.

All the victims were inside the home at the time of the
shooting.

Two 14-year-old girls, a 13-year-old girl and a 22-year-old woman were
injured, not critically, but Wright said it was unclear whether they
were wounded or hit with shrapnel.

A 4-year-old boy was wounded in the shoulder and a 19-year-old man was
shot in the leg. Both were hospitalized, but were expected to recover
from their injuries, Wright said.

He said police were investigating whether the 19-year-old man was the
one involved in the drug deal argument.

A 9-year-old boy sustained a bruise, but was not seriously injured,
Wright said.

Police did not release the identities of the victims. Wright did not
know whether any were related.

Witnesses gave police the description of two cars that left the scene.
Officers found one of the cars and two young men were taken into
custody for questioning, Wright said. One was released after a few
hours.

He said police were looking for two other males in their late teens,
early 20s.

Wright said it was unclear whether more than one was gun was used.
Officers were seen collecting bullet casings from the front yard.

The 3-year-old girl underwent surgery at LeBonheur Children's Medical
Center before dying. The other children were hospitalized at this
hospital, spokeswoman Janet Phillips said.

The adults and teen-agers were taken to the Regional Medical Center of
Memphis, or The Med.

Neighbors said shootings were uncommon in Highland Heights, a working
class neighborhood of small brick homes and duplexes.

Dennis Love, a nightshift forklift operator who lives with his wife
across the street from where the shooting occurred, said he was lying
on his couch when he heard several shots fired.

"When it stopped, I got up and looked out the door, and there was a
gold car pulling off," he said. " ... I didn't see anybody lying down
on the ground. I thought everything was all right. I didn't know what
was going on."

He said he didn't know his neighbors or their names, but he said
police had visited the house in the past.

"They had problems ... It's the guy that makes the problems. I keep my
nose out of their business," Love said. "But when we first moved over
here, they had cops over there a lot. It had slacked down."

Steve Mohammad, who owns the Save-N-Save Supermarket in the
neighborhood, described the family as close-knit. He said he didn't
know their names, but he knew them by sight when they shopped in his
store.

"They are a hard-working family. Maybe they were just at the wrong
place at the wrong time," he said.
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