Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher: “Shooting was gang related.”
During a Wednesday morning press conference, Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher told reporters that his department has confirmed Tuesday night’s shooting on North Willow Street to be gang related.
"This incident like so many of them overlaps traditional gang definitions. It may involve several gangs acting in concert or against each other. We don’t know the specific motivation behind the shooting other than they have beef between different groups," Fletcher said.
Frederick Clark, 20, was gunned down in front of a fence in the 800 block of North Willow Street. The fence still has bullet holes that illustrate the amount of gunfire that was laid out. Several feet from where Clark was shot, family and friends erected a make-shift memorial in his honor. Standing over that memorial was Clark’s mother, Satedra Smith, who spoke to News 12 about what she was going through.
"No parent wants to be out here saying this is my child or I never thought this would be my child. But I honestly can’t believe this is my child," Smith said.
Clark’s make-shift memorial is draped in blue colors. The colors associated with the Crips gang. Police have confirmed that Clark was the intended target but were not ready to confirm that Clark was validated as an actual member of the Crips.
Police did confirm the arrest of Christopher Walton, 20. Walton was charged with two counts of aggravated assault along with first degree murder and reckless endangerment. His bond has been set at $1.5 million.
According to investigators, Walton was in the car that drove up to Clark and another man when bullets started flying.
Walton was arrested a short time later thanks to eye-witnesses who gave police a description of the car that was used during the drive by shooting.
"People told us what we needed to know to find this murderer before anyone else was harmed," Chief Fletcher said.
Police also told reporters that one of Walton’s stray bullets struck a man in the leg. Vernandus Adair had to be treated for a non-life threatening injury after a stray bullet penetrated his home and hit him in the leg.
According to police, Walton will likely not be the only person charged in connection to the shooting. Because the incident is regarded as gang violence involving multiple groups of gang members, other suspects who have yet to be captured will also face criminal charges.
Leave a Reply