Sunrise Street Shooting - Update from Murphy Police Department

Photo courtesy of Local TV 4

The following press release has been issued by Town of Murphy Police Department.

Official Press Release #1

Location: 29 Sunrise St., Murphy, NC 28906

Defendant #1: Name Currently Withheld, Currently in Custody

Victim #1: Name Currently Withheld, Pending Family Notification

Date of Incident: 05/10/2016

Time of Incident: 12:05 pm

Agencies Involved: Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, Cherokee County Emergency Services, Cherokee County 911 Dispatch Center, Cherokee County District Attorney's Office, Cherokee County Magistrate's Office, North Carolina Highway Patrol, Cherokee County School Resource Officers, Polk County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Chattanooga Police Department, Town of Murphy Maintenance and the Murphy Police Department.

Incident Narrative:
At or around 12:05 pm, the Cherokee County 911 Dispatch Center received a call in reference to a male that had been shot in the head. During this time multiple law enforcement officers from the Murphy Police Department and the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office responded to a residence on Sunrise St.

Upon their arrival, a male, approximately 22 years of age, was found with a small caliber gunshot wound to the head. The suspect in question had already fled the scene. At this time a BOLO was put out on the vehicle in question. Cherokee County Emergency Service was able to stabilize the victim before he was airlifted to Erlanger Hospital in Tennessee. During this time, the area was cordoned off to secure the area. The Learning Center and the Murphy Elementary School was placed on lockdown, which was later lifted, due to their proximity to the area.

While the area was being searched, the Polk County Sheriff's Office (TN) and the Tennessee Highway Patrol had gotten into a brief chase with the suspect's vehicle. The suspect in question was found with the firearm used, a large amount of methamphetamine and had multiple pending warrants for their arrest.

Currently we are questioning multiple parties that were involved in this incident and are executing a search warrant on the residence. Due to the pending nature and charges of this investigation, this is all of the information that can be shared at this time. Once we have further information, and have contacted the victim's family regarding their injuries, we will advised the names and the charges of the victim and suspect.

Thank You,
Justin J. Jacobs
Chief of Police