Memphis men charged with murder of 7-year-old girl
MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Three gang members were arrested and charged with first-degree murder Wednesday in the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl, reports CBS affiliate WREG.
Investigators said Kirsten Williams was playing outside her home on Friday, April 10, when Carl Johnson, 19, Jordan Clayton, 21, and Branden Brookins, 19, drove up and fired round after round from their vehicle. The little girl was shot in the head.
"We do know someone at that house was the intended target, but we have not been able to determine if Kirsten Williams was the target," said Toney Armstrong, Director of Memphis Police Services.
Children told WREG after the bullets finished flying, they found their friend lying in the driveway shot in the head.
Police said the men were retaliating for a shooting that happened the night before on the same street. At a news conference Wednesday, police said they responded to Regional Medical Center last Thursday where a man had been taken for a gunshot wound. The 22-year-old victim reportedly refused to cooperate with police.
The station reports that all three men are members of local gangs and that Clayton and Brookins have criminal records.