Young Dolph shooting witnesses ‘ducked for cover’ during attack – as locals fear killing will spark more violence
WHEN gunshots rang out in the second most dangerous city in the US, workers in nearby businesses ducked for cover.
It was only later that they learned rapper Young Dolph, whose real name Adolph Robert Thornton Jr, was fatally shot at Makeda's Cookies.
The local Memphis rapper was reportedly gunned down while buying cookies for his mom.
An Airway Inn worker, who wished not to be identified, told The Sun in an exclusive interview that they were cleaning rooms in motel across the street from the crime scene when they heard the gun blasts.
"All i heard were gunshots. We were cleaning the rooms and we locked ourselves inside," he said.
Workers did the same thing in the laundromat next door to Makeda's Cookies.
The man, who also wished not to be named in the story, said he wasn't there when the crime happened but one of his employees was inside.
"She hit the floor and ducked for cover when she heard the gunshots," the man told The Sun.
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Wednesday's fatal shooting took place around 1 p.m.
By 4:30 p.m., both local workers said Airway Boulevard was blocked off in all directions.
"They shut down everything. Airway is closed and the side streets are barricaded," the man from the laundromat said.
The busy street is an exit ramp from Interstate 240, which was backed up for miles Wednesday evening.
"There's about 1,000 people trying to see what's going on," the Airway Inn employee said.
"ARE CRIMES LIKE THIS NORMAL FOR THE AREA?"
When posed with that question, the motel employee said, "We don't have enough time to go through it all. You'll be on the phone all night."
Now police are bracing for a potentially violent and tumultuous night.
Memphis was rated by as the second most dangerous city in America in 2021, only behind only Anchorage, Alaska.
The major difference is population: Anchorage has a population of just over 300,000 while Memphis has a population over 1.3 million.
The city has a violent crime rate of 11.07 per 1,000, according to Safewise.
In Memphis, the risk of being a victim of violent crime in the last year was 1 in 90.
Over the last year, that number spiked to about 1 in 25 and coincided with hard financial times for the city's proud residents.
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In 2021, 15.4 percent of the city's population is living below the population line and contending with a high 7.5 percent unemployment rate, according to Safewise.
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