Police in Memphis, Tennessee, are searching for two suspects over a video posted to social media threatening violence against the community at a time when the city has been rocked by multiple high-profile crimes in recent days, making national headlines.
The Memphis Police Department issued a plea for help from the public to find the individuals seen in the video on Thursday.
“On Thursday, September 8, 2022, the Memphis Police Department was advised of threats of violence directed at members of our community. These terroristic threats were posted on social media platforms and specific threats to events occurring in the City of Memphis,” said a statement posted by the MPD on Twitter. “The two suspects making the threats are described as two black males between the ages of 18 to 21 years of age.”
Police also released screen shots of the suspects.
SUSPECT IN LIVESTREAMED MEMPHIS SHOOTING SPREE KILLED AT LEAST FOUR VICTIMS: POLICE
MPD needs help with identifying these individuals who are making threats to community members.
If you have any information on who these individuals are, call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH. pic.twitter.com/vcjRffqaNd
— Memphis Police Dept (@MEM_PoliceDept) September 8, 2022
Police urged anyone with information to call CrimeStoppers at 901-528-CASH or submit a tip online. The statement noted a tip that leads to an arrest could make the tipster eligible for a cash reward of up to $2,000.
The police statement comes at a time of high tension in the city this week after the abduction and killing of teacher and billionaire heiress Eliza Fletcher and a shooting spree, partly broadcast on Facebook Live, in which at least four people were killed. The suspect in the shooting spree, identified as Ezekiel Dejuan Kelly, was apprehended by Memphis police late Wednesday.
Further raising fears in the city was a massive police response to an Internal Revenue Service building in Memphis on Thursday, after which authorities assured there was no incident reported that would cause harm to the public.
“Be advised that we are experiencing several calls regarding various activities that are reportedly occurring within the City of Memphis,” a statement from the MPD posted on Twitter read. “Officers are responding to every call; however, no incident has occurred that would cause harm to the public. If any incident is found to be true and could affect the public, we will advise.”
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The incident also occurs in the wake of increased vigilance from the IRS, following an explosion of threats online. The threats led IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig to announce last month the first internal security review of every IRS facility since the 1995 Oklahoma City Bombing.
