An apparent shooting Tuesday morning capped a busy weekend for Chattanooga police officers who responded to two other shootings around Memorial Day, one of which was fatal.
A Chattanooga Police officer checks out the inside of a car riddled with bullets in the 1600 block of South Hawthorne Street Tuesday, May 29, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. No one was in the vehicle at the time the police arrived to the scene. First, on Friday, police arrested a man in connection to the homicide of Aaron Biddle, 21, just hours after the slaying because the suspect, Jadarius Knox, 23, confessed to the crime on scene.
Officers were dispatched to the 7800 block of Basswood Drive at 3:48 p.m. and found Biddle in front of the home, deceased from a gunshot to the head, according to court documents. Knox was standing outside and told police he shot Biddle.
The homeowner said Biddle was her ex-boyfriend and he came over to pick up some of his belongings. Her child's father, Knox, was also at the home. She said Biddle tried to start an argument with Knox after loading his belongings into a car.
Jadarius Knox (hcsheriff.gov)According to court documents:
Biddle then ran into the home and started punching Knox, prompting Knox to run outside and pull a firearm on Biddle. According to the woman, Biddle said, "What are you going to do? Shoot me?" Knox then shot Biddle.
Knox confirmed the primary details of the woman's testimony, adding he never said anything back to Biddle. He also said Biddle threw a jar at him while he was sitting on the couch playing video games before running in and punching Knox.
He said he ran outside and Biddle followed him, holding his XBox. He also confirmed that Biddle said, "What are you going to do? Shoot me?" before he shot him.
Chattanooga has seen 29 homicides in the past 12 months. Police spokesman Rob Simmons said the department has cleared 90 percent of those, well above the national average clearance rate of 59 percent.
"This year CPD investigators have successfully cleared the majority of the homicides which have occurred in the city," he said in an emailed statement. "This is due to three reasons: The hard work of our investigators, technological advances available to our investigators ... and a substantial increase in our community members reaching out to us and taking ownership in their community."
Three days after the most recent homicide, officers dispatched to the 2100 block of East 25th Street found Derek Bonner, 22, suffering from a minor gunshot wound. Bonner said he was walking on the sidewalk when he was shot from a passing vehicle.
Simmons said the shooting was still under investigation and there was no suspect information currently available.
A Chattanooga Police officer walks around the outside of a vehicle riddled with bullets in the 1600 block of South Hawthorne Street Tuesday, May 29, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Tuesday was the latest of a string of shootings that occurred over the Memorial Day holiday weekend. Finally, on Tuesday, a tan sedan parked in the 1600 block of South Hawthorne Street sat, headlights on, with more than a half-dozen bullet holes punched through the window. Yellow police tape criss-crossed the street as officers examined the scene.
Simmons said officers did not find physical evidence indicating that someone was shot as of Tuesday afternoon, adding that no one had come forward claiming that they were shot at.
Cortez Roshell lives across the street from where the shooting took place and said he believes his cousin was shot. He said the car that was shot is owned by his cousin and he was shot before when he was involved in criminal activity.
"After that he told his mama he was gonna turn his life around and he did," he said. "All he does is work and come home.
Roshell said he heard what he now knows were gunshots, but he thought it was someone banging on the front door.
"When I get my money up, I'm getting out of here," Roshell said. "Why can't nobody let somebody live?"
Contact staff writer Emmett Gienapp at egienapp@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6731. Follow him on Twitter @emmettgienapp.