One dead, 14 Injured in Collierville Mass Shooting

Active shooter, UK Thang, 29, shot 15 people, killing one at a Kroger grocery store on Byhalia Rd around 1:30p.m. Thursday, according to the Collierville Police Department.

Thang, who was asked to leave his third party vendor position at Kroger earlier that morning, appeared to have a self-inflicted gunshot wound and died, according to police who wouldn’t name the shooter on camera following the event.

Ten of the victims were employees of Kroger and five, including the deceased victim Oliva King, were customers, according to police. Eight patients were treated across Regional One hospitals including King, one patient was treated and released, six patients remain and three are in critical condition according to Martin Croce, MD, Chief Medical Officer, Regional One.

“There were bloody people running out of that building and there was not one blue uniform that hesitated,” said Collierville, Tennessee, Police Chief Dale Lane. “We have broken hearts. Nobody wants to go into that scene I can promise you that, but you do what you have to do.”

Police said the event lasted a matter of minutes followed by an overwhelming sense of coming together as a community. Many people were deployed yesterday that weren’t on duty, and according to Lane, an off-duty firefighter from another county jumped into an ambulance to help.

Collierville Mayor Stan Joyner expressed his thanks, “Our police and fire departments made us so proud with their response to this tragic event and we appreciate all that they do every single day.”

“It demonstrates the importance of Region One health to this community, that we are able, with the help of everyone else to maintain the services and continue to take care of as many patients as we possibly can,” said Croce.

According to Peter E. Fischer, MD, Regional One, despite having five helicopters from the hospital wing dispatched to the scene and three more from different agencies, no patients were transported by air.

“It was a phenomenal response from everyone in the entire region,” said Fischer. “The ground ambulances did exactly what they needed to do.”

“This is one thing we can be very proud of, the response that happened yesterday to that tragic event,” said Croce who added that additional staff came in yesterday to assist with patients. “We can all be very proud of our system because it works, and it worked very well yesterday.”

The deceased victim, Olivia King, was a widowed mother of three. Her family said they are devastated by this act of violence. “We ask that you pray for the repose of the soul of our mother, Olivia King,” her family said.  “We also ask everyone for their prayers for all families and friends affected by the events today, as well as for God’s mercy on the shooter and his family.”

According to Lane, the shooter had a criminal history of misdemeanor arrests but nothing for violence. Police issued a search warrant at 885 Federal Ridge Rd. which was the residence of the suspect. Evidence collected at the scene is being processed including electronic devices, and individuals questioned at the home were cooperative according to police. No additional charges were given to those at the residence.

“At this time, there are no known threats to the Collierville community, and our department is working diligently to prevent further violence,” said Lane who encouraged the community not to live in fear. “Though it’s a tragedy we have to move on, we can’t let them win.”

Lane said he was thankful for the close relationships the Collierville Police Department has made with other police and fire departments in the area. “The one main lesson we learned is that you don’t want to be building relationships in the middle of a crisis,” said Lane. “We have great relationships, we train together, we talk, we work together, we plan together and share crime data. All of that comes into a response that creates synergy, so I’m thankful for our partners.”

According to police, the Collierville Police Department conducted an active shooter training on June 4 with police from surrounding departments as well as the Collierville Fire Department. This training allowed police to integrate the fire department personnel into the response operations. “This improved our response on Sept. 23,” said Chief Lane.