One Dead and 14 Others Injured After Collierville Kroger Mass Shooting

COLLIERVILLE, Tennessee- A mother of three was killed and 14 others were injured during a mass shooting at a Kroger grocery store in Collierville, Tennessee. 

The suspected shooter, UK Thang, 29, has been pronounced dead by medical personnel due to a self-inflicted gunshot wound following the incident.

“Ten of the victims were employees of Kroger, five of them were customers,” said Collierville Police Chief Dale Lane. 

The deceased victim has been identified as 70-year-old Olivia King, who had stopped to shop on her way home from Thursday Mass.

“We have broken hearts,” Lane said. “Nobody wants to go into that scene, I promise you. There were bloody people running out of that building.”

Lane described that they were pulling people out of every imaginable hiding spot in the store, freezers included. People inside the store did everything they could to protect themselves from the gunshots.

It has been confirmed by Collierville police that Thang was a lone gunman and did not work with anyone else in the shooting. He had some prior arrests for minor misdemeanor offenses but nothing violent. Police also executed a search warrant for the suspect’s home in search of information in the ongoing investigation. They also confirmed that Thang moved to the town during the summer of 2020.

Police have not announced if there was a particular motive behind the shooting and have not specified what kind of weapon was used.

Thang was a third-party vendor for Kroger, according to Lang. Authorities are speculating if the incident was work-place related. 

On the scene, first responders arrived promptly and put their active shooter protocols to use despite the chaos of it all.

“This is always going to be in the back of everyone’s mind,” said Lane. “Don’t live in a state of fear.”

Most of the responders had been preparing for an event like this their entire careers and had spent a lot of time training for this scenario. 

“I’ve been in the fire service for 44 years and I’ve never been so proud of a group of people in my life,” said Fire Chief Buddy Billings.

So many people were eager to help the situation, and Lane described that some officers even self-deployed to the scene. Countless police vehicles were parked outside of the store.

“There were so many things that did go well that prevented additional loss of life,” said Lane. “Our sole priority was neutralizing any potential threat.”

The victim, Olivia King, was a widowed mother of three. 

“Our family is devastated by this senseless act of violence,” Said King’s family in a statement. “We ask that you pray for the repose of the soul of our mother, Olivia King. 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. Thank you.”

Eight of the victims were transported to Regional One Hospital in Memphis.

“We received a total of eight patients yesterday,” said Chief of Trauma Andy Kerwin at Regional One. “One of those patients is deceased, three remain in critical condition, and three required emergency surgery.”

This hospital specifically specializes in trauma and has been practicing drills for these kinds of situations. Surrounding hospitals have been taking on extra COVID patients just so Regional One could make it their main focus. The hospital staff believes their devotion to this preparation is what made their response work.

“We plan and we train for these mass surger events,” said Trauma Center Medical director Dr. Peter Fischer. “We’ve been working very hard for the last five years on our plan. We haven’t drilled in a year and a half and it still went phenomenally.”

The hospital and other connected agencies actually dispatched 8 helicopters to the scene.

“Two ended up making it to the scene but none of the patients had to be transported by air,” said Fischer.

A visitation for Olivia King will be held Friday, Oct. 1, 2021, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Catholic Church of the Incarnation in Collierville. A public prayer service will be held on Tuesday, Sept. 28th at 7:00 p.m at the Church of Incarnation. 

The Community Foundation of Greater Memphis, Kroger Delta Division, and the National Compassion Fund (NCF) have announced the Collierville Survivors Fund, which will help assist those that were directly impacted by the Kroger shooting. 

The group is a nonprofit that helps provide charitable contributions in the aftermath of mass casualty events.

All funds of this event will go to supporting the family of Olivia King, those that were injured during the shooting, and those that have suffered psychological trauma after experiencing the incident.

Donations to this fund for the Kroger mass shooting can be made at nationalcompassion.org. 

Customers will also be able to make donations at the registers of any area Kroger store. The company will be making a sizable donation to the fund as well through its corporate foundation.