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Memphis Police have charged an 18-year-old Black man for fatally shooting a 13-year-old girl earlier this month, WREG-News reports.
On Wednesday (April 13), Mikhael Thompson admitted to the murder of Mary Wallace and said her death was gang-related, according to court documents. The 18-year-old was charged with first-degree murder, theft of property, and three counts of aggravated assault.
On April 1, authorities responded to a shooting at a Memphis apartment. Wallace was found shot and unresponsive outside of an apartment door. The victim was later pronounced dead at the scene.
After Memphis Police released footage of three suspects running away from the scene, Thompson became a person of interest in the investigation. Cops found multiple guns when they arrested Thompson — one of the guns was stolen in March 2022.
When questioned, Thompson revealed that he used a gun police found in his possession to kill Wallace. Thompson is being held at Shelby County Jail.
This is the eighth child murder of 2022 in the city of Memphis, according to the police department.
Dr. Regan Williams, Trauma Medical Director at a Memphis children's hospital, told WREG-News, “The number of firearm injuries has increased so much that the hospital staff have gotten used to it." She added, “We had a huge increase in firearm injuries and deaths in 2020, further increase in 2021 and then as you mentioned 2022 is not faring very well.”
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