First victims of gunman Memphis shooting spree identified

A killing spree in Memphis that left four people dead and three wounded began with the fatal shooting of man whom gunman Ezekiel Kelly had been talking with in front of mutual friends, police said.

The 19-year-old gunman’s rampage started around 1 a.m. Wednesday and ended at 9:30 p.m. that night, when Kelly was arrested after leading cops on a chase from Mississippi to Memphis.

Kelly livestreamed a portion of the bloody spree on Facebook, according to cops.

Most of the victims have not been officially named yet, but family members identified on social media 17-year-old Corteria Wright as one of the fatalities, and Rodolfo Berger as one of the wounded.

The carnage began at a private home on Lyndale Avenue, where they discovered the body of 24-year-old Dewayne Tunstall, station WREG reported.

Police said Kelly and Tunstall were hanging out with a group of mutual friends when Kelly pulled the Tunstall aside to talk with him.

During the conversation, Kelly allegedly shot Tunstall in the head in front of five other people, who were unharmed. It’s unclear what prompted the shooting.

Then around 4:38 p.m., Kelly, who has violent criminal past, allegedly fatally shot a man who sitting in his car on South Parkway East.

Just two minutes later, Kelly reportedly shot at a woman near Norris Road and Interstate 240, wounding her in the leg.

Just before 6 p.m., Kelly livestreamed himself walking into an AutoZone store on Jackson Avenue and shooting a man inside twice — after promising his online viewers that he wasn’t “faking” and that it is “real s–t.”

The victim, who was hospitalized in critical condition, was identified by his daughter as Rodolfo Berger.

“Today my dad was a victim of a senseless act of violence,” Jenny Berger wrote on her Facebook page. “He was in an autozone in Memphis, TN minding his own business and someone came in and shot him while they were going live on Facebook. I’m still thinking I’m going to wake up from this viral nightmare.”

The daughter reported that her father had undergone surgery but will require another operation in a few days.

After Memphis police issued a public alert warning people to be on the lookout for Kelly, he allegedly carjacked and shot a woman at Poplar Avenue and Evergreen Street, switching cars.

The owner of the Toyota SUV died of her injuries at the scene.

A male shooting victim was also discovered at the same location and hospitalized in stable condition.

At 8:55 p.m. police found a woman suffering from fatal gunshot wounds on West Raines Road.

A man claiming to be the victim’s dad later shared an emotional video on Facebook, reacting to the killing of his 17-year-old daughter, Corteria Wright.

“My baby just turned 17. Please stop the violence,” Corterian Wright says through heart-rending sobs. “I’m begging ya’ll, please stop the violence.”

Wright said his daughter was “innocent” and had just celebrated her birthday Aug 25.

After the fatal shooting.ot the teen, Kelly crossed the state line into Mississippi and reportedly carjacked the driver of a Dodge Challenger at gunpoint.

Minutes later, police spotted the stolen Dodge and chased it in a high-speed pursuit that ended back in Memphis after Kelly crashed the car and was taken into custody.

In June 2020, Kelly was arrested on charges of attempted first-degree murder, reckless endangerment and aggravated assault, according to public records.

He was sentenced to three years, but was released March 16 after serving just 11 months, Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said.

The mayor slammed the courts for Kelly’s early release, which so far has not been explained.

“If Mr. Kelly served his full three-year sentence, he would still be in prison today and four of our fellow citizens would still be alive,” Strickland said.