MEMPHIS, TN – A man whom law enforcement agencies were fervently searching for was found dead on Thursday. Mavis Christian Jr., the 52-year-old man, was charged with shooting five people, three women and two girls, and killing four of them. Authorities found Christian in a car, deceased from what they suspect was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, in the southwestern part of Memphis. He was officially pronounced dead at the scene.
Police responded to a shooting incident that took place at the Field Lark Drive area just past 5:30 p.m. where they discovered three victims with gunshot wounds, two girls and one woman. Both the woman and one of the girls succumbed to their injuries and died at the location, while the other girl was rushed to the hospital, as reported by the police.
Another shooting report drew the officers to the Warrington Road region where a woman was found shot. She was declared dead at the scene. Later that evening, close to 9:30 p.m., the officers received yet another shooting report, this time at the Howard Drive area. Another woman was found shot and was pronounced dead at the scene, as per the police statement.
On careful investigation, it was determined by the Memphis Police that all three shooting incidents were connected and that the same man, Christian, was responsible for all of them.
These gruesome acts were believed to be domestic violence incidents, with the perpetrator being a known relative of the victims who had apparently fled from each crime scene. A white 2017 Chevrolet Malibu bearing the Tennessee license plate 390-BHTM was the vehicle he had reportedly used to leave the crime scenes. Various local, state, and federal agencies collaborated in the manhunt to apprehend Christian.
The wave of homicides in Memphis continues as the city’s police department reported 345 homicides this year as of Friday. According to the calculations of FOX13, the number of homicides this year in Memphis is at least 350, surpassing the record of 346 homicides from 2021.