Boy Killed, Teen Sister Critically Injured in Tennessee Home Shooting: Cops

A shooting in Tennessee has left a brother dead and his sister in critical condition, according to police.

Officers with the Memphis Police Department (MPD) responded to reports of a shooting in the 4700 block of Haven Court at about 6:55 p.m. local time on Saturday. When officers arrived at the home, they found that a juvenile boy and a 14-year-old girl were shot, according to CBS affiliate WREG.

The girl was taken to Regional One Hospital in critical condition while the boy was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meanwhile, ABC affiliate WMC reported that the MPD's initial findings indicate the 12-year-old brother shot his sister and at another victim who was uninjured. The local news station added that the brother then proceeded to shoot himself as one of the unharmed victims grabbed another and left the home.

An MPD spokesperson told Newsweek on Monday: "Prelim info indicates the male suspect shot victim #1 and then shot himself. The male juvenile also shot at victim #2 but she was uninjured. Victim #2 was able to grab Victim #3 and leave the residence unharmed. The investigation is ongoing."

According to the Gun Violence Archive, 18 people have been fatally shot in Memphis since April 1 of this year. The same database found 96 people in Memphis had been shot dead since January 1.

The MPD has launched an investigation into the shooting and have not released further information about the girl's current condition.

According to The New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) last year, firearm-related fatalities became the leading cause of death among people aged 1 to 19 in the United States. While the reasons for the rise are unclear, the NEJM stated that firearm-related mortality rates will later revert to pre-pandemic levels.

"Regardless, the increasing firearm-related mortality reflects a longer-term trend and shows that we continue to fail to protect our youth from a preventable cause of death," it said.

Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee signed an executive order earlier this month that tightened the state's gun laws.

Lee signed an "order of protection law" that sets a three-day deadline for law enforcement to report new criminal activity and court-related mental health information to the Tennessee Instant Check System, the state's background check system.

Lee told reporters at a press conference after the signing, "The truth is, we are facing evil itself, and we can't stop evil, but we can do something."

The executive order was signed following the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27 that left six people dead, including three children. The shooter, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, was shot and killed by police.

Following the shooting, more than 7,000 students left school and marched to the Tennessee Capitol to demand gun safety legislation.

Update 4/24/23, 10:48 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from an MPD spokesperson.