Arrested Memphis Shooting Spree Suspect Allegedly Posted on Facebook Live

Police have arrested a 19-year-old man suspected of shooting multiple people in Memphis while allegedly broadcasting to Facebook Live.

Ezekiel Kelly, the suspected shooter, was taken into custody Wednesday night by the DeSoto County Sheriff's Department in nearby Mississippi after 9 p.m. local time, reports Fox affiliate WHBQ-TV. The arrest of Kelly ends the crisis that locked down swaths of Tennessee's second-largest city in a police chase spanning three states. Details are still emerging on the number of victims involved and the motives behind the alleged shooting spree that rattled the city.

The alleged shooting spree began around 4:30 p.m., police told WMC Action News 5. A video allegedly posted by Kelly appears to show the suspect walking into an AutoZone store, where he aims a handgun at a man inside and pulls the trigger.

Memphis police reacted to the reported shootings with a dire warning urging residents to take cover.

"ALERT!! ARMED AND DANGEROUS!!!" Memphis police said in their initial Twitter post, asking the public to call 911 if they had information regarding the shooter's location.

"If you do not need to be out, please stay home!" the city of Memphis said in a tweet.

Details on injuries and deaths caused by the shooting have not been released by police, but Fox affiliate WHBQ-TV reports that the suspect claimed in a Facebook Live video to have shot five people.

There have been at least three shootings, according to the station, including a man killed on Lyndale Avenue, another man killed at a gas station on East Parkway and a woman critically injured soon after on Norris Road, the station reports.

The shooting sent the University of Memphis into lockdown after shots were fired nearby, reports WHBQ-TV. The Memphis Area Transit Authority also said on Twitter that it was suspending its trolley and bus services "indefinitely."

Memphis Police Major Karen Rudolph told ABC affiliate WATN during a live broadcast Wednesday evening that authorities had few details on the shooter, including a motive, but that the shooting spree struck as many as five locations spread out across the city.

"The suspect is still at large," police said in a tweet at 8 p.m local time. "If you do not have to be out, stay indoors until this is resolved."

Police chased the suspect across state lines into Arkansas after 7 p.m. local time, where he allegedly carjacked another person before heading back to Memphis, reports Jonesboro, Arkansas, news station KAIT.

Kelly was still at large shortly before 9 p.m. local time and was last seen in a gray Toyota with Arkansas license plates, according to police. Earlier, Kelly was seen driving a blue or silver sedan with a red dealer tag and busted rear window before switching to a gray Toyota SUV, police said on Twitter.

Kelly obtained the Toyota after carjacking a woman on Poplar Avenue, police told WREG. Witnesses told the station the woman had been shot.

Kelly later crossed the border to Southaven, Mississippi, where he stole a Dodge Challenger before coming to a standoff with police at Ivan Road and Hodge Road, refusing to exit the vehicle as he was surrounded by law enforcement, according to the station.

Police issued a shelter-in-place order for everyone in the area of Ivan Road and Hodge Road shortly after 9 p.m., and announced it had been lifted about 20 minutes later.

The motives behind the alleged shooting spree are unclear. WHBQ-TV uncovered Kelly's past Facebook posts referencing shooting.

Kelly has prior arrests for attempted first-degree murder and reckless endangerment in 2020, reports The Commercial Appeal. He was released from prison in March after being sentenced to three years, according to the paper.

Police issued a first-degree murder warrant for Kelly on Wednesday night, according to the paper.

Newsweek reached out to Memphis police for comment.

Update 09/07/22, 11:00 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information and background.