Memphis Recorded First Homicide of 2024 as New Mayor Was Sworn In

As its new mayor was sworn in Monday, the City of Memphis recorded its first homicide.

Just after noon on Monday, a man was shot and killed at a Whitehaven gas station, according to reports. Two others were injured in the shooting, and a suspect has not yet been identified.

At the same time this incident occurred, Mayor Paul Young was being sworn in.

#BREAKING: Paul Young sworn in as 65th mayor of the city of Memphis. pic.twitter.com/T9NgX2j7D8

— Stephen Pimpo (@spimpojr) January 1, 2024

“The narrative that is going on right now, it has a negative impact on who we are, on our economy, our national reputation,” Young reportedly said at his inauguration. “So, we want to make sure we show the world how strong this city is.”

He indirectly addressed the city’s violent crime epidemic.

“We need to have all of the different players at the table at the same time,” he said. “We certainly want to make sure [the Memphis Police Department] is strong and that they are doing all the things that they need to do, but we need to understand that public safety is not just the law enforcement side of things, it’s also the prevention and intervention activities.”

Young previously said that a small population of criminals was “terrorizing” the city.

Memphis had a record 397 homicides in 2023, drawing criticism from state officials and a response from Republican Gov. Bill Lee’s office.

“It’s really bad here, Todd,” State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) said on Fox News in December. “The crime is really out of control here in Memphis. Matter of fact, just last week I sent a letter to the governor asking him to send in additional state troopers to Shelby County. Just in a weekend, Todd, we had 21 shootings, five murders, four smash-and-grabs, we had a FedEx truck stopped in traffic by a group of people that then opened up the back of the truck and looted the back of the FedEx truck.”

Taylor wrote a letter to Lee saying that Memphis was “under siege.”

Shortly thereafter, Lee assigned 40 additional Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers to Shelby County but noted that he said he thinks the city’s prosecutors aren’t properly dealing with criminals.

“At the same time, local officials must carry out their responsibility to uphold the law and hold criminals accountable, without resorting to soft on crime plea deals that have serious consequences and too-often result in more crime and more victims,” Lee said.

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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter/X.
Photo “Paul Young” by Paul Young for Memphis.