Memphis teen Marcus Malone was indicted Thursday on more than three dozen felony charges in the November 1st murder of Mississippi teen Alana Tello of Horn Lake. This is according to a report released by the Memphis Police Department on Thursday.
The shooting originally happened on November 1, 2016 when two groups of teens went to Zodiac Park near East Holmes Road and Tchulahoma Road in Whitehaven. The teens were at the park to continue a fist fight that started at a party the night before.
The shooting took place at approximately 8:15 p.m. when a tan two-door car filled with six men drove up and opened fire. The shooters were reported to have their faces covered with red bandannas. A neighbor said they heard at least 17 shots fired. The shooting took place in a small parking area at the edge of the park, which according to witnesses, is never closed off at night making it often the scene of suspicious activity.
Four victims were transported to Regional Medical Center, the fifth victim was taken to Baptist DeSoto hospital by private vehicle, and a 16-year-old is dead. The sixth victim was taken to Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital by private vehicle.
Chelsea Roberts, a classmate and friend of the victims spoke with us last year and had this to say of this horrific event, “It’s weird to me because I just saw her (Tello) in the hallway today and I have a class with one of the others who were shot. It’s going to make this school year hard because when we go to class tomorrow, she won’t be there. Everything is different now.”
Despite being nearly a year since this tragedy struck, the town of Horn Lake is still reeling from the death of Alana, who would be a senior at Horn Lake High School this year. It is the hope of everyone close to this situation that this indictment of the Memphis teen may bring even the smallest glimmer of closure to such a horrific event. Memorials have been made on Facebook, as well as at the North Mississippi business of Tello’s mother. Teens can still be seen in town wearing their tie-dye shirts in honor of their friend who was taken from them in November last year.
The report says Malone was also charged with 12 counts each on attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault, and employment of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony, and one count of reckless endangerment. This case is being handled directly by the Shelby county District Attorney’s office.