Third shooting near Memphis Medical District kills a person

A person has died following a Wednesday afternoon shooting near the intersection of North Waldran Boulevard and Meriwether Avenue, Memphis police said. At least three shootings have taken place in and around the Medical District since Tuesday night, leaving two people dead and one critically injured.

Police haven't identified any of the victims, and it's unknown if the three shootings are connected, said police spokesman Officer Louis C. Brownlee.

In the latest shooting, police responded to a shots fired call about 2:40 p.m. and found a male victim who was later pronounced dead, police spokeswoman Lt. Karen Rudolph said in a statement.

The location is near the Memphis VA Medical Center. The hospital is separated from the shooting scene by a fence, busy Poplar Avenue and a few hundred yards.

The series of shootings began shortly after 8 p.m. Tuesday, when a person was shot and critically injured near the intersection of Manassas and Robeson.

Then on Wednesday, multiple shots were fired in the area of Manassas and Mosby around 1:15 a.m. A man in a vehicle was shot and fatally wounded.

Then the shooting at Waldran and Meriwhether took place Wednesday afternoon. By 5 p.m., most police officers had already left and removed the crime scene tape.

A resident of a nearby apartment complex said he heard three shots. Other residents said they saw police officers giving CPR to a man lying on the street outside the apartment complex fence. Rivulets of dried blood were still visible on the street and gutter. The residents declined to give their names, once citing fear of retaliation.

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