Full Story of East Lake Murder Arrest

According to the arrest affidavit, at 1 o’clock Tuesday afternoon police were dispatched to East Lake Courts on a reported shooting and found 20-year-old Percy Allen dead with a gun wound to the neck inside a residence.

Immediately following the shooting, the complex was filled with grieving family, friends and onlookers.

Police were among the crowd, communicating with witnesses and this communication is what officers believe led to a quick arrest.

"Through strong investigative work, ties and relationships and communications that we saw develop on scene and throughout the evening and last night with members of our community, our neighborhood policing bureau, our investigators, we were able to place charges and arrest a suspect in that homicide of Mr. Allen," said Deputy Chief David Roddy with the Chattanooga Police Department.

Following leads, including surveillance video of the suspect hauling a dresser drawer from the residence and later emptying it, police were led to 24-year-old Christopher Lamar Lowe.

He is charged with first degree murder, aggravated assault, especially aggravated robbery and a gun carry charge.

"The individual became known as a person of interest through the strong investigative work that was done on the scene yesterday as well as information that was relayed to us by members of the community," Roddy said.

The fact that witnesses were willing to come forward is a striking change to most other shootings in the community.

"You got the community staying in the project, knowing what’s going on," said Freddie May Benford of Chattanooga. "Won’t do nothing about it. Too afraid to speak up because of gang members. It needs to stop. It takes your aunt or uncle or whoever to step up and not be afraid and say what’s going on."

Lowe has an extended rap sheet including prior arrests for aggravated burglary and aggravated assault.