Police confirm Alton Park shooting to be gang related; one suspect in custody

CHATTANOOGA, Tennessee(WDEF) –  Chattanooga police say gang violence has hit an all time low after gang members shot at groups of children who were on a sidewalk headed to school.

It happened Tuesday morning along a two block strip of West 38th Street in Alton Park.

Eyewitnesses told News 12 that two vehicles were headed Eastbound along West 38th Street when someone inside one of the vehicles pulled out a blue bandanna and yelled "Crips" before shots were fired from the vehicles.

"Anytime someone jeopardizes or terrorizes children and families in our community, it offends me personally. It offends and hurts the officers who work for me. And, as you can hear, the family members are very upset," said Chattanooga Police Chief Fred Fletcher.

Fortunately no one was injured. According to police, one group of kids was waiting on a bus to take them to Howard High School and another group was waiting on a bus to transport them to East Lake Academy.

Fortunately for investigators, there were many eyewitnesses including parents who were able to give police a vehicle description. A short time later, police converged onto East Lake Courts where they found a car matching the description of the vehicle used during the shooting.

Police also located a person of interest in East Lake Courts who was quickly taken into custody.

During the course of their investigation, police learned that not only was the shooting gang related, but that it may have been sparked by what someone posted on social media.

"I’ve talked to multiple parents who are very upset at the behavior that young people; their children, their child’s friends are creating on social media such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. They strongly believe that it’s tied in to what precipitates this violence," Fletcher said.

Investigators told News 12 they believe many people know who was involved in the shooting and is asking them to please come forward.

"We need anybody who knows about this to call the police. Parents, family members, residents out here are saying they saw people who saw this. There are people who know who was involved in this. There are people who know the names and faces. We need you to help stop this before somebody’s daughter or child or son or brother is shot at," Fletcher said.

As for the suspect who was taken into custody, police told News 12 that he remains in custody but has not been arrested. It’s unclear if he’s cooperating with investigators.