KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — Prosecutors in District Attorney General Charme Allen’s Career Gang Unit obtained a 30-year sentence for a man who shot at two victims at Morningside Apartments in 2019, according to a release from the DA's office.
Shaquil Malik Talib Murphy, 28, was convicted of attempted first degree murder, attempted second degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony.
Judge Steve Sword sentenced Murphy to serve a total of 30 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, according to the DA's office.
At the trial in September, Assistant District Attorneys Heather Good and TaKisha Fitzgerald explained to the jury that on Aug. 29, 2019, Knoxville Police Department officers responded to a shooting at Morningside Apartments.
Officers spoke to victim Shane Garner who said that he had been with Murphy earlier in the day, according to the DA's office. The two got into an argument, and Garner went to Morningside.
Murphy then retrieved two revolvers that he had purchased from a teenager in exchange for methamphetamine, according to a release. He went to the crowded apartment complex and started firing at Garner.
The DA's release said Garner ran through the complex toward victim Howard Crowe who is the maintenance supervisor for the apartments. Murphy fired at Crowe, striking his work truck twice.
Fearing for his life and the lives of other residents in the area, Crowe grabbed his personal firearm and fired at Murphy, striking him three times, according to the DA's office. Murphy fled the scene but was apprehended a short time later.
“We were successful in this case because of the cooperation of witnesses in the community who came forward to hold this shooter accountable,” Allen said.