Community questions how fatal block party took place without a permit

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — After a block party in Orange Mound consisting of hundreds of people turned into a mass shooting, people are now wondering if an event like that was even supposed to be taking place.

Community activist, Mama Dee, came to visit Orange Mound Park on Monday to see the damage the shooting had done to it.

While looking around, she told WREG she found herself asking how an event that big went unchecked.

“Me as a promoter, every time I have done an open-air block party, you know, not in a facility, I have had to pull a permit,” Dee said. “I had to get a $1 million bond.”

9 shot, 2 killed at Orange Mound Park in Memphis

Police confirmed on Saturday night that there was no permit given for Saturday’s event. They say officers were in the area when the call about the shooting came in.

“If we have one officer that patrols this area, and he’s seen all those people there, he should have stopped his car immediately because we got our kids so outrageous here,” Dee said. “He should have stopped his car, called back to the precinct and asked do we have a permit?”

County commissioner, Brittany Thornton lives just blocks away from where the shooting happened. She said the shots sounded more like “fireworks” than gunshots due to how many there were.

Like Mama Dee, she has questions about how the event transpired and if the organizers even knew they needed a permit.

“This is actually the second time that this type of event has happened in the park,” Thornton said. “Are we only gonna ask about a permit when there are fatalities? Because last year I would ask the same question, did they have a permit last year?”

Grandmother calls out ‘devils’ responsible for block party shooting

She added that it may be time to tap into groups that have the ability to draw a large crowd of young people and find out how to reach the same young people with some possible solutions.

“We need to take a step back to say, ‘How do we build better relationships with this population that is organized, that has a lot of energy and has access to guns because this great state of Tennessee that we’re in,” Thornton said. “I have so many questions about those who pass these gun laws that allow this to happen.”

While activists are planning a press conference calling for accountability, Thornton said leaders who represent are also galvanizing.

“There’s lots of conversations that we need to have about how to mend the disconnect between the generations.”

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