Memphis Rox Climbing Gym is known as one of the largest nonprofit climbing gyms in the world, including bouldering and top-rope walls, but the record-breaking facility was consumed by tragedy on Sunday when a fight broke out. Two men were shot inside the Memphis-based climbing gym, one of them an employee.
According to Fox13 Memphis, one man was declared dead at the scene while another was brought to the hospital and later died.
Memphis Rox Climbing Gym is known as one of the largest nonprofit climbing gyms in the world, including bouldering and top-rope walls, but the record-breaking facility was consumed by tragedy on Sunday when a fight broke out. Two men were shot inside the Memphis-based climbing gym, one of them an employee.Â
According to Fox13 Memphis, one man was declared dead at the scene while another was brought to the hospital and later died.
“Tonight, we lost one of our most beloved Memphis Rox team members to gun violence. We will close our doors this week, beginning Monday, June 30, as we process our grief,” the Memphis Rox team said in a statement.
Police arrested one man at the scene for tampering with evidence and resisting arrest. According to reporting by WREG News 13, Farris Haley was at the scene when police arrived. Police “detained Haley, but he broke away from them, re-entered the crime scene, grabbed the pistol, and ran to an awaiting vehicle.”Â
The police have not announced if Haley was involved in the shooting, but officers have suggested that the two people involved in the shooting knew each other.
At this time, no information has been released as to what led up to the altercation and shooting inside Memphis Rox. The deceased employee was identified by family as Jarmond Johnson. Johnson was an avid mountain climber who had climbed mountains around the world, including in Africa and Antarctica. The second victim has not been publicly identified.Â
Memphis Rox is not permanently closing after the incident, but the gym did make announcements on social media that the doors would remain closed this week.
