Two injured in shooting following argument in E. Memphis

Two people were shot in East Memphis on Friday afternoon, and one sought help at St. Francis Hospital, police said.

Both victims apparently shot each other during an argument, and both are in critical condition, the police department said.

Police spokeswoman Lt. Karen Rudolph cautioned the information is preliminary.

She said the incident began about 2:40 p.m. at the IHOP on 4725 Showcase.

Officers concluded two people who were in two separate cars were meeting at the site, and one got out of his vehicle and got into the other person’s vehicle, Rudolph said. Both are male, but police didn’t provide ages.

While they were in the same vehicle, an argument ensured and both reportedly began to shoot at each other, she wrote.

One of the victims struck a fence near the Crown Plaza Hotel at 2625 Thousand Oaks after driving away, she wrote.

He was taken with a gunshot wound to the Regional Medical Center in critical condition.

The other person fled and arrived at St. Francis Hospital, and is currently in critical condition and will be transferred to Regional One. Police recovered a gun and marijuana, Rudolph wrote.

The fire department gave a slightly different version of events:

The incident at Ridgeway and Park was originally reported as a motor vehicle accident, then described as a shooting, said Memphis Fire Department Watch Commander Chett Hopper. A male victim reportedly ran to St. Francis Hospital, which is nearby, Hopper said.

The police department had posted similar information on Twitter, saying that at 2:55 p.m., a male shooting victim had arrived at St. Francis Hospital by private vehicle and said he was shot in the area of Ridgeway and Park Ave.

It wasn’t the only shooting in the city Friday afternoon.

The Memphis police posted on Twitter that a male victim was shot on Castlegate Lane in Hickory Hill. That’s near the intersection of Riverdale and Raines. The victim in that shooting was in critical condition.

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 528-2274.

Reach reporter Daniel Connolly at 529-5296, daniel.connolly@commercialappeal.com, or on Twitter at @danielconnolly.