Former CEO of Pinnacle Airlines was fatally shot in in downtown Memphis, Tennessee on Thursday night
The former CEO of Pinnacle Airlines has been fatally shot in Tennessee.
Authorities say Philip Trenary, 64, who also served as the CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber, was killed in a shooting that happened around 8pm Thursday.
The shooting took place in the 500 block of South Front Street in downtown Memphis.
Police described the suspect as a black male, wearing a blue shirt and driving a white four-door Ford F150.
The investigation is ongoing.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland confirmed Trenary’s death.
Strickland tells The Commercial Appeal: ‘My thoughts are with his family and Chamber colleagues.’
The shooting took place in the 500 block of South Front Street in downtown Memphis
A horrific scene from the shooting is shown in this Thursday photo in downtown Memphis
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland said he is ‘shocked at the senseless loss tonight of Phil Trenary, a leader in our community’
Trenary is pictured right next to Kathryn Marquart, is a senior majoring in professional pilot with a minor in aviation management at Oklahoma State University
Senator Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., talks with Philip Trenary, (L) president and former CEO of Pinnacle Airlines on August 6, 2009
He also said on Twitter: ‘Like many of you, I’m shocked at the senseless loss tonight of Phil Trenary, a leader in our community.
‘More than anything in these hours, my thoughts are with his family and Chamber colleagues.
‘I’m in close contact with MPD, which is leading a thorough investigation.’
The Commercial Appeal reports that Trenary – a father-of-three – founded Lone Star Airlines in Oklahoma in 1984.
He came to Memphis in 1997 to run a regional airline that morphed into Pinnacle.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland (pictured) confirmed Trenary’s death on Thursday