Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Local prosecutors have cleared a vehicle owner who fired shots during what authorities have described as an attempted carjacking at a Kroger gas station this week. Police have said the man shot and wounded one of the people trying to steal the vehicle and killed a second, a 16-year-old.
An arrest affidavit filed in the case says the vehicle owner, Terry Thompson, told police that an assailant pointed a gun at him during the incident and that he opened fire in return. An attorney for Thompson described it as a matter of self-defense.
"It’s been reviewed and ruled justified," Larry Buser, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said in an email Thursday afternoon.
Sixteen-year-old Cameron Pryor was killed, police have said.
Willie Murry, 18, was shot in the foot, received medical treatment, and now faces charges of carjacking and other counts.
The shooting at the gas station prompted additional attention because of the time of day: a sunny afternoon — and the location, a heavily trafficked shopping center at the intersection of Kirby Parkway and Poplar Avenue, in an affluent area near the line between East Memphis and Germantown.
Investigative reporter Daniel Connolly welcomes tips and comments from the public. Reach him at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.