MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — A man believed to have fatally shot three women and a teenager in Memphis, Tennessee, has been found dead following an hours-long manhunt, police have confirmed.
Memphis Police say Mavis Christian Jr., 52, was found in a vehicle on Alta Road at around 3:30 a.m. Sunday. He had what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Christian was wanted in three separate shootings that killed four and left another critically wounded Saturday night.
At around 5:45 p.m. Saturday, police were called to a shooting on Field Lark Drive in southwest Memphis. There, authorities found a woman and a girl, 13, who had been killed, and a 15-year-old girl who had been critically wounded, Memphis Police Officer Christopher Williams told The Associated Press.
Less than an hour later, authorities were called to Warrington Road in southeast Memphis for a woman with an apparent gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m., police found another woman dead on Howard Drive in Whitehaven.
Memphis Police said through the course of their investigation, they determined the shootings were connected, and all involved Christian.
Police said Christian was related to the victims but could not immediately specify how they were related. The names of the victims have not yet been released.
Authorities have not yet released any additional information.
Christian’s criminal record stretched back to a 1996 aggravated assault charge, the Commercial Appeal reported, citing court records. He also faced charges of felony domestic violence, aggravated assault, theft and vandalism in 2018, the newspaper also reported.
The suspect’s uncle, Melvin Christian, told The Associated Press that he didn’t know what might have triggered the violence.
“I hadn’t seen him in years,” Melvin Christian said when reached by phone Sunday.
He said he didn’t know any details about the shootings, including who had been shot. When told that four people had died, he replied, “Oh Lord.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.