A divorced ex is arrested following a high-speed police chase after shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend in broad daylight after a breast cancer awareness walk in Memphis.
Jackson Hopper, 26, faces first-degree murder charges after shooting 22-year-old Ellie Claire Young in Shelby Farms Park on Saturday, according to Action News 5.
Young was discovered with numerous gunshot wounds lying near her car after participating in a walk for Breast Cancer Survivors at the park. She was pronounced dead by emergency officials who arrived at the scene shortly after.
According to witnesses, a man driving a white Honda CRV with a Kentucky temporary tag approached Young’s car, fired two rounds, and then went away.
“I was walking towards my car, and the young lady was getting into her Jeep, when a man came by in a white car and shot her twice,” eyewitness Monica Bell told News Channel 3. “He appeared out of nowhere, started shooting, and shot her. It might have been anyone walking and been shot because he didn’t care.”
Young’s family told officials that she had just broken up with Hopper, and police were able to find him down in Mason, Tennessee. The 26-year-old was involved in a chase with police that resulted in a crash in which his vehicle overturned.
Hopper’s mugshot shows him with serious bruising on his face. “Special thanks to the Mason Police Department officers and Tipton County, Lauderdale County, and Dyer County Sheriff’s Office deputies for pursuing and apprehending suspect Hopper yesterday in Dyer County as he was attempting to flee the area,” a statement issued by the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office read.
Deputies have not revealed the reason for the shooting. Hopper is expected in court on October 21 and 22.
Young’s family launched a GoFundMe page to help her family. It has already raised $26,000, which is barely short of the $28,000 goal.
“Ellie was taken too soon. Ellie, a beautiful woman on the inside and out, had committed her life to serving others and was on her way to becoming an outstanding physician. “She was walking sunshine, and the world is a darker place without her,” the campaign stated.
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