Jackson Police say recent shootings are gang related

JACKSON, Tenn. — A fight between two rival gangs is what the Jackson Police Chief said is behind three houses being shot up in a 12-hour span; and one man being sent to the hospital after gunfire erupts during the lunch hour Friday in West Jackson.

Police Chief Julian Weiser said he has more officers on the street. Specifically targeting a gang rivalry blamed for a streak of gun violence in the Hub City.

“I was back in my bedroom and I heard a ‘pop, pop, pop,” said one neighbor

Neighbors in the Lambuth area describe an early Friday afternoon shooting practically in their backyards. A gunman taking aim at a home in the 300-block of West King Street, sending one man to the emergency room.

“In the last 12 hours, there’s been a couple houses shot,” said Jackson Police Chief Julian Wiser. “We believe that they’re related. It does appear the be gang-related between two different groups.”

Thursday night, a home on Burkett Street and on King Street were shot into. No one was hurt. Early Friday morning, Chief Wiser said officers arrested two armed suspects along nearby Burkett Street. Wiser said additional officers are already on the street.

“Gang investigators, narcotics investigators,” Wiser said. “We’re going to do whatever needs to be done to stop this violence between these two groups.”

In the meantime, police encourage neighbors to report any suspicious activity.

“Anyone, any of the residents, if they see any type of suspicious activity or people or vehicles that are not associated with the neighborhood to give us a call,” Wiser said.