Suspect ID’d in Kroger Shooting That Left Two Dead, 14 Injured

A Collierville man killed at least one person and injured at least 14 others at a Kroger grocery store before committing suicide with, what seems to be, a self-inflicted gunshot yesterday, according to police.

After entering the Kroger store, the suspect, former Kroger third-party vendor, Uk Thang, 29, let off multiple shots, wounding innocent employees and customers, before he was found in the rear of the store with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound and is dead, according to police. The motive is still unclear as police want to “get through the investigation” before disclosing such information.

“We all want to know the ‘why,’” Police Chief Dale Lane said. “We are looking into every angle.”

It was “obvious” the employees and customers knew exactly what to do in the time of crisis, according to Lane. That, coupled with the police acting swiftly, there were many “saved lives.”

“We removed people from freezers, closets, hiding in between pallets of groceries,” Lane said. “They did what they had to do until we could get in there and help them.”

An employee was even extracted off of the roof of the building, according to Lane.

The lone fatality out of the 10 employees shot, Olivia King, was a widowed mother of three.   

“Our family is devastated by this senseless act of violence,” King’s family said in a written 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.”

It is believed the shooter acted alone, according to police. 

Mayor Scott Joyner was proud of the first responders but disheartened by the tragedy.

“This is a ‘where were you’ event,’” Joyner said. “People will say, ‘where were you the day the Kroger shooting happened?’”

People outside of the store heard the onslaught and one man in particular, Jason Lusk, recorded the moments leading up to the police surrounding the building and posted them on facebook.

“He shot off about 12 shots as I got to my car,” Lusk said. “My phone was in the car and I managed to video one of the shots and the police arriving.”

Regional One received eight patients, three victims in critical condition and three who needed emergency surgery, according to Dr. Andy Kerwin, MD.

Dr. Martin Croce, MD, Chief Medical Officer, emphasized “teamwork” when discussing the hospital’s role in assisting the wounded victims.

Dr. Peter E. Fischer, MD, found it “remarkable” how well their recovery plan was executed and praised the “phenomenal” response from everyone in the entire region.

“We train for these mass surge events,” Fischer said. “We’ve been working really hard in the last five years on our plan. We haven’t drilled, to be honest, in a year and a half, secondary to covid and everything to like that, and it still came together yesterday phenomenally well.”

However, he also noted that there is still “opportunity for improvement,” in regards to the plan.

“One of the minor things we saw yesterday was ‘How do we contact air traffic control when we have eight helicopters all heading to the same scene. That’s, again, one minor improvement we’re going to take forward to make sure we have it in our plan. 

The work the medical staff does is physically and emotionally challenging, but Dr. Andy Kerwin, MD., but he feels that they handled the situation very well yesterday.

“I don’t think anyone’s truly prepared to get 15 gunshot wounds, or a mass casualty event like that,” Kerwin said. “You rehearse in your mind how you would do that, you practice those drills.”

Lane encouraged the community to not live in the “state of fear,” that there are “no known threats,” and the police department is “working diligently to prevent further violence.”

“Be alert, be vigilant,” Lane said. “We’re going to do everything we can to support the team here at Kroger and their employees in any way that we can.”

Chief Lane informed business owners and citizens that they can contact the police department if they want to receive active shooting training.

“That’s the main thing, is to understand how to plan and understand how to prepare yourself for this,” Lane said. “….We hope it doesn’t happen, but hope is not a plan.”

The fire chief, Buddy Billings, was proud of the fire crew for not hesitating, and relying on their training, but he was deeply saddened by the tragic events.

“I’m from here,” Billings said. “I was born and raised here and it tears up my soul to see what’s going on here.”