Police: Four dead, two wounded at house fire in Memphis

Teresa M. Walker

Wednesday, March 8, 2000 | 3:55 a.m.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Firefighters responding to a house fire Wednesday were ambushed by a gunman who stepped out of the garage and opened fire, authorities said. Four people were killed and two others wounded.

A sheriff's deputy and two firefighters were shot to death, Fire Inspector Richard Sojourner said. A woman was found dead in the garage, but it was unclear how she was killed.

A female bystander and the gunman also were wounded, he said. Their injuries were not life-threatening.

Firefighters had been called to the home just before 1 p.m. When they arrived, witnesses said, a man came out of the garage firing a shotgun and shouting, "Get away! Get away!"

A sheriff's deputy who responded to a report of the shooting was shot as he pulled up in his patrol car, authorities said. He crashed his car through the fence.

Memphis police officers then arrived and tried to get the gunman to put down his weapon. When he refused, "one of our officers got into a gun battle and the suspect was shot," Police Director Walter E. Crews said.

Before authorities arrived, neighbors reported seeing smoke coming from the house and alerted the man, but he said everything was fine. Soon after, deputies and firefighters arrived and were ambushed.

Police were not sure whether the fire was set to cover up the woman's death. Sojourner said he did not know if the suspect lived at the house.

The shooting occurred in a prosperous neighborhood of mostly one-story brick houses and well-kept yards at the edge of the city. A golf course is a few miles away.

The fire was put out within a couple of hours.