16-year-old girl dead, 5 others injured in shooting at Zodiac Park

One teenager was shot to death and five others were injured after an apparent fight in a Southeast Memphis park late Tuesday night.

The incident began around 8:15 p.m. in Zodiac Park, not far from the Mississippi state line. According to police, some of those at the park said a group of six suspects wearing bandannas walked up to the gathering and opened fire. A 16-year-old girl was killed on the scene. Two female victims and a male victim were taken to Regional Medical Center in critical condition. The fifth victim was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-DeSoto in a private vehicle, but was later moved to the Regional Medical Center.

The sixth victim, a girl, was taken to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital in critical condition.

Police said the suspects fled in a tan two-door vehicle, and that the shooting may have stemmed from an ongoing argument.

Chester Anderson and Phillip Glayson were enjoying the balmy night by taking a walk when they suddenly heard gunfire, they said late Tuesday.

“I’m guessing 15 to 17 shots,” said Anderson, who immediately hit the ground. “They let it go.”

Both witnesses then said they saw large groups of young people, almost all of them white, fleeing the scene. Some of them, Glayson said, were in upscale cars, including a BMW. Another group of witnesses said that most of the cars fleeing the shooting had Mississippi plates. A red Ford Mustang convertible left at the scene also belonged to someone at the shooting, witnesses said, adding that it also had Mississippi plates.

“We just saw a lot of people coming out of the park, running from gunfire,” said Glayson, who called 911. “The whole neighborhood heard the shots.”
Leshelle Glayson said she overheard a young girl on the scene talking to police, saying that the group had gathered for a "one-on-one" fight. It’s unknown if that’s what happened, or what such a fight was about.

Police had cordoned off a section of the park, including a small parking area that appeared to be where the shooting took place. Neighbors said the parking area is never closed off at night, and that it’s often the scene of suspicious activity.