"It has to stop": Mayor Tim Kelly calls teenage violence in Chattanooga "outrageous"

UPDATE (SUNDAY AFTERNOON): Following Saturday's shooting in downtown Chattanooga, Mayor Tim Kelly calls the continued teenage violence in the city "outrageous."

I'm standing here in front of you talking about our community's youth getting shot. That's outrageous and it has to stop. It's ridiculous that I even need to publicly state that guns have no place in the hands of our kids and that children shouldn't be wandering around in the middle of the night without supervision.

Sunday afternoon, Mayor Kelly and Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy spoke about the shooting that left six kids injured. As of 4:30 p.m., four people still had non-life threatening injuries and two were in critical condition.

The identities have not been released because all of the victims are minors.

Chattanooga Police Chief Celeste Murphy says it is too early to confirm if this shooting is gang related or not. They say they are still working their way through the evidence to confirm the nature of the shooting.

CPD also says they detained a person of interest last night, but that person has been since ruled out as a suspect.

Police say the shooting happened at least 15 minutes before the 11 p.m. city curfew would have gone into effect. But Chattanooga Police spokesperson Jeremy Eames says once that curfew does go into effect, issuing citations can take at least an hour.

The process in and of itself could take as much as an hour even more and you compound that with 40, 50, 60 kids that are violating curfew, we simply don’t have the resources to dedicate to ensure that gets enforced in that matter. So curfew is there, it does exist, it’s just difficult as a means of enforcement and deterrent.

Chief Murphy says the curfew is not the "ultimate solution."

We need support outside of that, and that is finding ways to one find other outlets for children. Also asking the parents to work with us on this curfew violation and make sure that they know where their children are.

Moving forward, Mayor Kelly says over the next several weeks, he will be working with City Council to create spaces for the city's youth to safely gather. He says they will also be investing in youth mentorship and violence prevention programs with funding from the American Rescue Plan.

He says there is not one strategy or approach to solve gun violence, but is calling on the entire community to come together.

I know that there is not one strategy or policy that will solve this crisis. And there's nothing I can say behind this podium that will undo last night's violence. But this afternoon, I am calling on our entire community to come together as part of the solution.

WATCH: Mayor Tim Kelly joins the Chattanooga Police Department for a press conference Sunday afternoon:

The Chattanooga Hamilton County Rescue Service also responded to the shooting Saturday night. They posted the following photos on Facebook:

Despite last night's shooting, Chattanooga police say that the city's violence rates are down for 2022 compared to this time last year.

In a tweet, the Mayor says his "heart is with the families whose lives have been upended by this horrific situation."

You can read Mayor Tim Kelly's speech from Sunday's press conference below:

PREVIOUSLY (SATURDAY NIGHT): Chattanooga police say that six people were shot in downtown, Chattanooga Saturday night, just before 11.

Officers patrolling around the 100 block of Cherry Street first heard the shots.

Police say 2 of the victims have life-threatening injuries.

The other four have non-life-threatening injuries.

CPD says those shot have been transferred to a local hospital. Their conditions are unknown at this time.

Chattanooga police believe the victims who were shot were outside of the incident.

They say the victims ages range from teenagers to 20-year-olds.

CPD had asked everyone to avoid the area during the investigation.

One person of interest is detained.

CPD believes there is no ongoing threat to the public.

This is a developing story. Depend on us to keep you updated.