One dead, one injured in shooting at Avalon and Vollintine

A 23-year-old man has died following a shooting around 7 p.m. near the intersection of Avalon and Vollintine, Memphis police said.

Police had initially said two men were in critical condition. The victims were taken to Regional One, spokesman Louis C. Brownlee said.  The second victim remains in critical condition.

Officers used yellow tape to seal off the crime scene for at least two blocks, an unusually large area for Memphis, where many shooting investigations are confined to a small space. The blocked off area stretched from the corner of Avalon and Vollintine, where the North Memphis Market stands, all the way to North Willett.

Included in the blocked-off area was the nightclub Wild Bill's.

Investigators could be seen shining flashlights as they looked for evidence on the dark street.

As the investigators continued their work around 9:30 p.m., a series of about 12 gunshots rang out from a short distance away. One of the police investigators went to the trunk of a car, took out a bullet-resistant vest, and strapped it on.

A woman standing near the crime scene saw the vest and said, "I might need one standing here." The police officer said, "Yeah, welcome to North Memphis."

That woman's sister said her own children often visit the grocery store that's the center of the crime scene. The women didn't want their names used - the sister cited fear of retaliation from whoever did the shooting.

Police released only a vague description of a suspect - a man about six feet tall in a blue hoodie with light blue jeans, last seen northbound on Maury.

Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.