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MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) – A civic leader and former airline executive was alone when shot dead in downtown Memphis, Tennessee, and authorities are investigating the murder. of it during a robbery or as part of a "personal vendetta". said Friday.
Later in the day, police arrested two people who were in a truck matching the description of a vehicle related to the shooting, but they were not charged with the murder.
Philip Trenary, President and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, was shot dead around 8 pm Thursday, South Front Street, said Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph. Trenary was shot near the place where the chamber held its annual "Move it Memphis" race, near a large apartment complex and not far from the historic Beale Street.
Trenary died at the One Health Regional Hospital, police said. They called for help in locating a suspect described as a black man with dreadlocks, wearing a blue shirt and driving a four-door Ford F150 white.
Rudolph stated that the suspect went out of his vehicle, approached Trenary and shot him. Trenary was alone when he was shot, said Rudolph.
"We still do not know if it was a robbery or a personal vendetta," Rudolph said in a text message.
The police were looking for the Ford truck since the shooting. Late Friday morning, the police saw the truck and tried to stop traffic, but the driver refused, said Rudolph.
Rudolph said the officers determined that the truck had been stolen. They chased the truck, which crashed on two other vehicles.
Two people in the truck were injured and taken to the hospital. They were in custody, but Rudolph said that it was not immediately known if they were involved in Trenary's shooting. The police were still investigating.
Trenary, 64, from Oklahoma, was a former airline executive, hired for his community work in his adopted city. He founded Exec Express Airlines in Stillwater, Okla., In 1984. The company moved to Texas and was renamed Lone Star Airlines in 1987.
Trenary arrived in Memphis in 1997 to run a regional airline that took the form of Pinnacle, a $ 1 billion regional airline and 7,700 employees.
Trenary oversaw the acquisition and integration of Colgan Air in 2007 and Mesaba Airlines in 2010 before leaving Pinnacle in 2011.
He was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of the Memphis Chamber of Commerce in 2014 and led the launch of the Chairman's Circle, a group of more than 100 business leaders working to strengthen the Greater London Area. Memphis.
Trenary holds a degree in Aeronautical Engineering Technology from Oklahoma State University. He and his wife Bridget have three children.
The mayor of Memphis, Jim Strickland, has called this loss a senseless loss and Bill Haslam, governor of Tennessee, tweeted that "our heart is broken by the news".
US Representative Steve Cohen, Democrat of Memphis, said Trenary was "extremely important" to the city.
"He was totally immersed in the Memphis community, both as a celebrant and as a contributor," Cohen said in a statement.
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