Kelly says deadly Eastdale shooting appears to be gang related
UPDATE: Hamilton County Mayor Weston Wamp added his reaction to the shooting, saying, “I think we’re now at a point in our community where we ought to recognize and be sober about the fact that the things that we believed would address violent crime in this community have not done so, and violent crime remains high. Gang membership remains high. It is unfortunately the way that so many young people in inner city Chattanooga go. If we’re not out fighting for the hearts and minds of young men, whether it’s after they’ve made mistakes and they’re incarcerated or in middle school or in high school, then gangs will.”
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF)- Gang activity is back at the forefront of leader’s minds after a homicide last week.
Last Wednesday, Chattanooga Police say a 16 year old male was shot and killed in the Eastdale neighborhood.
We have since learned partially who that victim was and what could have led to that shooting.
Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly said, “A 16 year old Brainerd High School student was shot and killed… after getting off of his bus.”
An emotional Mayor Kelly spoke about the senseless killing of the 16 year old boy.
His identity has not been released but he confirmed the boy killed in the shooting on Wednesday afternoon was a Brainerd student.
Hamilton County Schools confirmed to us they have since increased security and other support staff at Brainerd High in the wake of the shooting.
Chattanooga Police say they are still searching for the perpetrators of this shooting.
The area where the 16 year old male was killed on Wednesday afternoon on the 1400 block of Lillian Lane.
It’s just right off the 1300 block of Tunnel Boulevard which is located between Shallowford Road and Wilcox Boulevard.
Chattanooga Police ask if you were traveling in this area between three and four p.m., that you contact them if you saw anything suspicious.
CPD has created this portal that you can anonymously provide any dashcam footage that could help them solve this case.
Additionally, Mayor Kelly alluded to what could have led to this shooting, saying, “CPD tells us this was probably gang related.”
So far in 2024 according to Chattanooga’s open data portal Chattadata, there have been 18 different homicides with one or more victims that have occurred so far this year.
This is up from 16 at this time last year.
The data breaks down the incidents by zip code.
The Eastdale neighborhood and the rest of the 37411 zip code where last week’s homicides took place has seen three murders this year, tying Alton Park and East Chattanooga for the most murders.
This is up only from one all of last year.
The most active zip code in Chattanooga, 37406 in East Chattanooga neighborhoods like Avondale, had six homicides last year, four of those in the last three and a half months of the year.
It is unclear how many of these are gang related, leaving leaders frustrated.
“When a 16 year old kid in school thinks his only path to prosperity is through a gang, through a life of crime, we have failed that child. We have failed that family, we have failed each other as Chattanoogans,” said Mayor Kelly.
We also asked Hamilton County Schools if the cancellation of the Rhea County-Howard game last Friday had anything to do with this incident.
HCS did not confirm or deny, saying Rhea County canceled after raising safety concerns leading to the two schools not finding a mutually acceptable alternate time or date for the game.
