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Police cars line the street in front of the emergency entrance at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis on Saturday, June 4, 2016, where a police officer was taken after being struck by a fleeing shooting suspect. The suspect is in custody.(Photo: Nikki Boertman, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal)
MEMPHIS<span style="color: Red;">*</span>— An 18-year veteran of the Memphis Police Department died Saturday night after being struck<span style="color: Red;">*</span>by the vehicle of a<span style="color: Red;">*</span>man believed to be a suspect in a downtown shooting where three people were injured, police said.
Verdell Smith, 46, died at the Regional Medical Center at Memphis, making him the latest casualty in a brutal year that's seen 95 homicides in the city so far — possibly more if any of three other victims in the crime that claimed Smith die.
"This highlights the dangers officers face every day," police Director Michael Rallings said during a news conference outside Regional Medical Center early Sunday morning.
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In a strongly-worded statement released at 2:30 a.m., Mayor Jim Strickland called on Memphians to remember Smith's family in prayer Sunday.
"My family joins all of Memphis in mourning the loss of Officer Verdell Smith, who gave his life in service to our city. I call on every Memphian to remember Officer Smith's family in prayer and reflection today and in the coming days — and to be grateful for the dangerous, important work our men and women of MPD perform every day.
"I am angry this morning — angry at the senseless loss of a dedicated public servant, and angry at the absolutely unacceptable level of violence in our city," Strickland added. "We must not accept this as our norm. I most certainly will not, and I will continue to act to make our city safer."
Rallings said no charges have been filed yet against the suspect who felled Smith, who is survived by his father, fiance and children.
Smith was struck after the unidentified suspect shot three people during a spree that began in the Pinch District at Westy's Restaurant and Bar and spilled over to Bass Pro Shops before ending near Beale and Third streets.
The suspect is in custody and was taken to the hospital in noncritical condition.
Rallings said police heard shots at 9:55 p.m. CT and found two male victims at Westy's. They were taken to the hospital in critical condition.
At 10:02 p.m., Rallings said police received a call to go to the nearby Bass Pro Shops, where a male employee had been shot. He was taken to the hospital in noncritical condition.
Police blocked off Third Street near where an officer was struck by a vehicle late Saturday, June 4, 2016. Three people were shot and a police officer struck by a vehicle late Saturday evening during a shooting spree.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: Brad Vest, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal)
The suspect fled in a silver vehicle and was spotted on Riverside Drive before officers lost him near the interstate.
Rallings said police weren't sure what route the suspect took next, but he ended up at Beale and Third as officers were working to clear the area. That's where Smith was struck.
The suspect was taken into custody after a foot chase.
Martin Norris and Jake Schorr IV, employees of Westy’s, said a man walked up, talking loudly to himself, pulled a handgun and shot two customers who were sitting at a picnic table in front of the restaurant.
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Norris and Schorr chased the man down the block, but he crossed the street<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and jumped a fence, heading toward the parking lot of Bass Pro Shops at the Pyramid.
There, truck driver Luis Cortez of Laredo, Texas, was exiting Bass Pro with his family when he heard gunshots in the parking lot. Cortez said the victim appeared to be a store employee who had been collecting shopping carts.
Cortez said he saw a car near the victim, but couldn’t see inside it because of dark-tinted windows. The car sped away and the victim ran to the store entrance, Cortez said.
Contributing: Jennifer Pignolet, The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal. Follow<span style="color: Red;">*</span>Ron Maxey and Wayne Risher on Twitter:<span style="color: Red;">*</span>@rmaxey1<span style="color: Red;">*</span>and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>@gwrisher
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