Questions remain following deadly triple shooting on Beale Street

Two days after a shoot out erupted outside of the Green Room on Beale Street, little else is known about the shooting that killed one, seriously injured two others, and potentially involved an officer's duty weapon.

The shooting occurred at 2:18 a.m. Sunday morning. Two groups of men, according to the Memphis Police Department's description of events, began shooting at one another right in front of officers assigned to patrol Beale Street.

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Caught in the crosshairs, police returned fire. One officer was sitting inside a patrol car when bullets pierced both the car and the officer's body-worn camera; no officer injuries were reported.

Three officers at the scene were relieved of duty, a routine procedure following officer-involved shootings.

So far, Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich has not requested an investigation from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, a spokesperson said. TBI agents are typically, but not exclusively, called in to investigate fatal shootings between police and citizens.

The lack of updates from officials could be tied to the status of the two surviving suspects. Both suspects who survived being shot were rushed to Regional One Hospital in critical condition, but both were later upgraded to "serious" condition.

Depending on the severity of their injuries, any sort of forensic investigation could be off the table for now.

The Commercial Appeal's news partner, WMC Action News 5, spoke with the family of the man killed in the shooting, identified as 26-year-old Tacquan Smith. Smith's mother, Tashia Smith, held Tacquan Smith as he died.

"I had to watch my son, just die in my hands," Tashia Smith said, adding that her son, a father of four, was an innocent bystander that was shot once in the head.

The shooting prompted responses from Memphis police Chief C.J. Davis and Downtown Memphis Commission President and CEO Paul Young.

Davis pledged to continue working with Downtown stakeholders and city officials to safeguard the often tourist-laden district from similar firefights in the future. She vowed to leverage every possible resource against what she called "a proliferation of gun violence" occurring in Memphis and across the U.S.

Patrons on Beale Street are not allowed to have fireams. Because Beale Street security left at 1 a.m. Sunday, the suspects were not checked for their firearms when they arrived, Young told The Commercial Appeal Sunday.

Police presence is typically heavy on Beale Street, especially on weekends. The shooting took place yards away from MPD's substation for the Entertainment District Unit.

Whether Sunday's shooting ushers in the return of Beale Street Bucks is, at present, unknown. The initiative requires patrons to pay a fee, usually around $5, before strolling through the entertainment district.

Proponents of the initiative include Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland, who says the measure goes a long way in preventing random acts of violence in the district. Detractors have said that charging for access to a public street makes no sense and is discriminatory.

Strickland also appeared to float the idea of an earlier wind down on Beale in an interview with WREG News Channel 3.

“I think we’ve really got to talk to Beale Street owners, why do they have to be open that late? I know it’s a long tradition, and state law allows them to be open until 4 or 4:30 a.m., but is it really necessary?," Strickland said to WREG.

Strickland, in his interview with the news station, also continued to criticize state law that allows anyone over the age of 21 to carry a handgun without a permit and also what he feels are loose penalties on those accused of various felonies.

Given how little information about the suspects is available, it is unclear if they had had any previous interaction with criminal justice system.

The Commercial Appeal has requested body-worn camera footage from Memphis police.

Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal and can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.

Commercial Appeal reporters Omer Yusuf and Sam Hardiman contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Beale Street triple shooting prompts questions about safety