Former Congressional candidate Weston Wamp said on his Facebook page that his 18-year-old cousin was shot "in broad daylight" in downtown Chattanooga on Wednesday afternoon.
He charged that there was inadequate law enforcement response to the incident, in which the cousin was hit in the elbow and wound up with three bullet holes in his car.
Mr. Wamp said a police report had not been filed as of Wednesday night. He called the dispatch response "so unacceptable."
He said the "shocking" incident happened at 2 p.m. at Fourth and Broad in the tourist district by the Carmike Majestic 12 Theater.
The incident came after a 26-year-old man was shot multiple times and killed at Wheeler Homes on Tuesday afternoon and a 29-year-old man was left in critical condition on Wednesday afternoon after being shot while stopped at a red light in the 1300 block of E. Third Street.
Mr. Wamp wrote on Facebook, "True, but shocking story: yesterday at 2 p.m. my 18-year-old cousin, a senior at Soddy-Daisy, was in his car with a friend at 4th and Broad by the theater. A gold van (with stickers on rear window driven by a black female) pulled up and a black male passenger shot 3 times and hit my cousin once - three holes in his car.
"It was either a handgun or semi-automatic pellet gun. As of tonight, the CPD has not even filed a report. I love and respect the CPD, but one reckless dispatcher took a call from a kid who was shot at and hit in the elbow downtown in broad daylight and did nothing!! Told him they would never find the van without a tag number. Given how the last few weeks have gone, this is so unacceptable."
Dispatchers work for 911, not the city police.
Weston Wamp on Thursday morning had this Facebook update:
"Update: my cousin is meeting with CPD today at 1 p.m. Our police department has worked overtime in recent weeks and months to keep us safe from gang violence. As originally stated, please keep in mind this seems to be an issue largely created by a dispatcher. With that said, my sister spent much of her day yesterday on the phone with CPD playing catch up and asking that they take this serious."
Coty Wamp, Weston Wamp's sister, is an attorney in the public defender's office.
The Chattanooga Police Department gave this statement on Facebook:
"The incident reportedly occurred around 2:00 pm on May 10, 2016 near 4th and Broad St. Thomas Watts, the victim, did not report the incident to police. At approximately 2:47 pm on May 10, 2016, the victim's mother called dispatch to report the incident and asked the dispatcher to call her son (Thomas Watts) on his cell phone. Unfortunately, the incident was reported 47 minutes after it occurred once the complainant drove home to the Soddy Daisy area, outside CPD’s jurisdiction. The dispatcher connected the victim with the appropriate CPD personnel to file the report over the phone. The report was then entered by CPD at 3:07 pm on May 10, 2016. Mr. Watts also reported that one of the BB’s hit his elbow, but he was able to tend to the wound with a Band-Aid and required no medical response. Both the CPD Lt. and the Sgt. over the Downtown area have been working on this case since that time. Yesterday, May 11, 2016, Lt. Sutton spoke with the victim, Mr. Watts, and requested that he come in for an interview to ensure police had all available case details. This is scheduled for 1:00 pm today. The reporting parties, mother and victim, have not expressed any concern with officers since their follow-up and officers continue to investigate the case."