Witnesses speak out after road rage shooting on I-240

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) – We are learning more details about what happened in another interstate shooting on I-240 Monday evening.

Police now say four children were shot along with their father.

Police previously reported that three children had been shot.

According to MPD, the incident appears to be a road rage incident.

The men seen in the viral photo carrying one of the children to safety tell us they don't want to be called heroes, they say they're just happy to be in the right place at the right time.

Marcus Ross and Diamond Holder are considered heroes.

Suspects Lorenzo Watson and Kendrick Ray are behind bars and facing criminal charges after an interstate shooting yesterday.

Action News 5 spoke with the witnesses who are still shocked by the incident.

“I’m a father and I lost my son, my oldest son,” Holder said.

A police affidavit says MPD responded to a shooting on I-240 near Poplar. The affidavit says the father was trying to get onto I-240 from Mount Moriah, but was blocked by a gray SUV. Once he got over the affidavit, the father waved his hand asking why they were driving wildly. That's when they said the gray SUV slowed down and drove toward the other side of the father and his children, then they opened fire.

“Maybe 15 to 20 shots at most and we thought one of the bullets hit the car because we heard something hit the car,” Ross said.

The father was shot in the buttocks area.

The two children were shot in the arms and legs, another in the back and one of the children was shot five times in the stomach.

“I wish more people like us would have taken over, because it could have been anyone,” Holder said.

Ross and Holder were stuck in traffic on I-240 and after hearing the gunshots, they got out of their vehicle and sprang into action.

“We were telling the dad to get in the truck so we could take them to the hospital and he told me I had more babies in the car. So I pulled my car up to his car and [helped him and the kids get out]”Ross said.

Holder was the man seen in the viral photo carrying one of the children to a vehicle.

“I really didn’t know I did it. When I came to, I was just getting back with the boy, and I knew we had to go finish it and do it,” Ross said.

And they did. They took the four slain children and their father into their car and drove them to the nearest hospital.

The affidavit states the suspects fled the scene and were later located near the Wolfchase Mall, where a vehicle pursuit began. The suspects began shooting at officers near James Road and Highland. A helicopter was able to track the stolen SUV until it crashed into a ditch. After a foot chase, officers were able to arrest Lorenzo Watson and Kendrick Ray.

“They just can't make it to the prime of their lives and no, their freedom is gone and I wish they would never do what they did,” Ross said.

While searching the stolen SUV, police found a Draco handgun, an AR-style pistol and a glock with a switch.

Ray already had outstanding warrants for his arrest, including attempted first-degree murder.

Action News 5 spoke with the father about the shooting and he told us everyone is doing better and trying to heal.

One of the suspects is expected to appear in court Thursday morning.

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