Current:Home > NewsDistrict attorney says Memphis police officer may have been killed by friendly fire -Secure Growth Solutions
District attorney says Memphis police officer may have been killed by friendly fire
View
Date:2025-04-14 16:35:39
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — A 17-year-old suspect charged in the fatal shooting of a Memphis police officer has not been accused of first-degree murder because information obtained by the district attorney’s office shows the officer was killed by friendly fire, officials said.
In a statement, the office of Shelby County’s top prosecutor said the 17-year-old has been charged with 13 counts including attempted first-degree murder and assault against a first responder in the death of Officer Joseph McKinney on April 12.
McKinney and an 18-year-old man, identified as Jaylen Lobley, were killed in a shootout that developed as officers investigated a suspicious vehicle. The 17-year-old suspect was wounded and remains in the hospital. Another Memphis police officer was injured and a third officer was grazed and treated at the scene.
The DA’s office did not identify the 17-year-old suspect in statements released Wednesday about the charges, which carry up a maximum of 400 years in prison. The statements did not provide details about friendly fire aspect of the shooting.
“We have not proceeded with a murder charge at this time because current information indicates that Officer McKinney was killed by friendly fire,” one of the statements said. “Although current information indicates friendly fire, we believe the 17-year-old’s reprehensible actions are still the real cause of Officer McKinney’s death.”
The Memphis Police Department on Thursday referred questions to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is looking into the shooting.
“We continue to mourn the death of Officer Joseph McKinney, as we learn this new information,” police chief Cerelyn “CJ” Davis said in a statement.
The TBI declined comment on the DA’s statements about friendly fire.
Lobley was arrested last month in a stolen vehicle with an illegally modified semiautomatic weapon that converted it to what Davis described as a “fully automatic machine gun.”
District Attorney Steve Mulroy said a Shelby County Judicial Commissioner made the decision to release Lobley on his own recognizance — with conditions including reporting and curfew — and did so despite prosecutors strongly arguing against it, citing the defendant’s danger to the community.
veryGood! (7)
Related
- Olympic men's basketball bracket: Results of the 5x5 tournament
- Group asks Michigan Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a ruling in Trump ballot case
- Group asks Michigan Supreme Court to hear an appeal of a ruling in Trump ballot case
- Thousands of Starbucks workers walk off the job in Red Cup Rebellion, union says
- Olympic men's basketball bracket: Results of the 5x5 tournament
- Corporate, global leaders peer into a future expected to be reshaped by AI, for better or worse
- Dog of missing Colorado hiker found dead lost half her body weight when standing by his side
- What happened to Kelly Oubre? Everything we know about the Sixer's accident
- Tropical rains flood homes in an inland Georgia neighborhood for the second time since 2016
- AP PHOTOS: Pastoralists in Senegal raise livestock much as their ancestors did centuries ago
Ranking
- Video shows dog chewing cellphone battery pack, igniting fire in Oklahoma home
- Poverty is killing the Amazon rainforest. Treating soil and farmers better can help save what’s left
- Biden and Mexico’s leader will meet in California. Fentanyl, migrants and Cuba are on the agenda
- Proof Pete Davidson Is 30, Flirty and Thriving on Milestone Birthday
- Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear ready to campaign for Harris-Walz after losing out for spot on the ticket
- ASEAN defense chiefs call for immediate truce, aid corridor in Israel-Hamas war
- How do cheap cell phone plans make money? And other questions
- Democratic Party office in New Hampshire hit with antisemitic graffiti
Recommendation
Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
General Motors becomes 1st of Detroit automakers to seal deal with UAW members
AP PHOTOS: Beef’s more than a way of life in Texas. It drives the economy and brings people together
Stefon Diggs distances himself from brother Trevon's opinions of Bills, Josh Allen
Olympic disqualification of gold medal hopeful exposes 'dark side' of women's wrestling
Teacher, assistant principal charged in paddling of elementary school student
Authorities arrest man in death of Jewish protester in California
What happened to Kelly Oubre? Everything we know about the Sixer's accident