A Memphis Police officer died Friday, April 12, after being shot earlier that morning, MPD Interim Chief Cerelyn “C.J.” Davis said. 

Davis said Officer Joseph McKinney, 26, was assigned to Raines Station.

An 18-year-old suspect also died, Davis said. A 17-year-old suspect also was wounded and remains in critical condition.

Leaders react to death of Memphis police officer Joseph McKinney

Davis said the 18-year-old, whose name has not been officially released by MPD, was arrested last month after being found in a stolen car with a firearm with a switch, a device commonly used to turn semi-automatic firearms into automatic ones.

Shelby County District Attorney General Steve Mulroy identified Jaylen Lobley as one of the suspects. The Daily Memphian had previously reported that Lobley was the 18-year-old suspect, according to sources familiar with the matter. 

“Once again senseless deaths in our community by gun violence,” Davis said during a Friday morning press briefing outside of Regional One Health. “We are here not to just talk about what happened last night but to make an appeal to our community that gun violence has to stop.”

According to MPD, officers responded to a suspicious vehicle call near Horn Lake Road and Charter Avenue. They were fired at by suspects in the car and returned fire.

Two officers were shot and a third was grazed, according to MPD. 

The officers and the suspects were brought to Regional One.

The second officer is in non-critical condition; the third was treated on the scene and is in stable condition.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating and expects to provide an update Friday afternoon.

Davis said Friday that the officers were called to check out the vehicle but that it was unclear who made the call.

According to court records, Lobley was arrested March 5 for several charges including: 

• Theft of property worth $10k to $60k
• Unlawful carrying or possession of a weapon
• Prohibited weapons- certain guns
• Vandalism $1,000 to $2,500

In addition to being found in a stolen car with a firearm and a switch, Lobley was also found to be in possession of two other stolen vehicles and a vehicle programming device commonly used to steal vehicles, Davis said. 

He was released on his own recognizance, with conditions, two days later.

Conditions of his release included random drug screening, weekly call-ins, rearrest checks, office visits, programming based assessment, and a curfew, according to the Shelby County Criminal Justice Portal.

”We need urgent action from this community. We mourn together,” Mayor Paul Young said Friday. “We stand together as one community ... It’s a shame that our young people are making these choices. Families are being torn apart with the violence we are seeing in our community.” 

Young urged for a “community call to action.”

“I want to reiterate. We do need community action. The only way we reverse this thing is if our community plays a part.”

Editor’s note: Comments have been disabled on this story due to the evolving nature of the information.