Crime & Safety
Savannah Police Chase Crash: Shootings 'Group-Gang' Related
Police say the shootings that wounded three people early Wednesday were group-gang related. Three people died in an ensuing chase and crash.
SAVANNAH, GA — The Latest on shootings in downtown Savannah, Georgia, that led to a police chase and crash that killed three people (all times local):
4:35 p.m.
Savannah's police chief is blaming gang members for shootings in the city's downtown historic district that led to a police chase in which a fleeing SUV crashed and killed three people.
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Savannah-Chatham County Police Chief Joseph Lumpkin said at a news conference Wednesday the shootings that wounded three people at about 12:13 a.m. were "group-gang" related. He showed reporters video of an SUV pulling alongside a sidewalk bench where several people sat before they jumped suddenly and ran as shots were fired.(For more local news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)
Officers chased the SUV, which crashed several blocks away. Lumpkin said the crash killed two young men inside the vehicle. The crash also killed a bystander, identified by police as Scott Waldrup.
Find out what's happening in Savannahfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Lumpkin said the SUV's driver, 17-year-old Jared Chambers, is charged with felony murder.
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11:50 a.m.
Police in Savannah say they have arrested a suspect after shootings in the city's downtown historic district led to a police chase in which a fleeing vehicle crashed and killed three people.
Savannah-Chatham County police Cpl. Hillary Nielsen told reporters that gunfire wounded three people at about 12:13 a.m. Wednesday in Savannah's City Market nightlife district. She said officers chased a vehicle that fled and soon crashed, killing one pedestrian and two people inside the vehicle. Five other pedestrians were injured.
Nielsen said police arrested one suspect who will be charged with felony murder and other crimes in the crash and shootings. The suspect was not immediately identified.
Nielsen said a fourth person was wounded by gunfire in a separate shooting nearby, but she couldn't say if it was linked.
By Russ Bynum, Associated Press
Image via Shutterstock
