Ocoee Street shooting suspect captured on surveillance photo

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee(WDEF) – Chattanooga police are asking the public to take a very good look at the photos in this article because the man in the pictures is a suspect in a shooting that injured a 14-year old innocent bystander.

It happened Sunday afternoon near the intersection of Ocoee Street and Roanoke Avenue.

“We want to find out what that individual did that day. We want to find out why that individual felt that it was okay to stand in broad daylight, fire a gun in that location where we now have a 14-year old boy with a hole in his leg that he didn’t deserve or do anything to get that,” said CPD Assistant Chief David Roddy.

Julia Smith lives on the block. She told News 12 this is the second time in recent weeks in which shots were fired. Prior to this latest incident, her home was riddled with stray bullets.

“It was about a week or so ago they come by and were shooting. Then they came back few days ago and just shot in the house,” Smith said.

Pearlie Freeman is another neighbor who said she’s fed up with the violence. She was in her bedroom during the gun battle Sunday afternoon.

“Only thing I remember hearing was the shots. I didn’t see who did it or which way they came. I really didn’t but I I wish I did because I would come forward. This needs to stop,” Freeman said.

For now, investigators are trying to learn as much as they can about the shooter seen in surveillance photos.

“We don’t know if  he is in a gang. We don’t know if he lives in the neighborhood. We don’t know if it was a personal vendetta. It could have been any number of things. What I do know right now is that I’ve got an individual that is shooting a gun in broad daylight and I have a 14-year old that’s got a gunshot wound. We will address that with everything we have,” Roddy said.

The 14-year old victim suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound and is still recovering.