Memphis Taxi Driver Murdered

(Memphis) Memphis police are searching for the person who shot and killed a Yellow Cab driver in downtown Memphis late Tuesday night.

It happened at Launderdale Street and St. Paul Avenue in the Foote Homes area.

Another cab driver told us his cab company also received a call from someone wanting a cab in the Foote Homes area last night, but says something told him not to go.

“That’s one place. I won’t go. No way, for no reason, because of my safety, you know,” said the driver.

Police say at around 11:20,  they received a call about shots being fired in the Foote Homes area.

When they got there, they found the cab driver, 50-year-old Kevin Grills, slumped over the wheel of his car.

Neighbors say they heard several shots and then saw the driver slam into a fire hydrant.

Back in 2010, a Memphis cab driver was shot and paralyzed during an attempted robbery.

Leo Boyd had just picked up a customer near Shelby Drive and Tchlamhoma when it happened.

Mohamud Omar says last month he was shot by two young men he thinks were trying to rob him.

He was off the clock, but driving his cab, “I mean it’s really scary for the cab driver. People think they make money, but they don’t make no money.”

Omar’s considering a gun, which is legal, as long as he has a permit.

He also thinks the city should require cab companies to install bullet proof dividers in all their cars, “Right now it’s bad. You got someone sitting behind you. He can do anything to you.”

If you know anything at the murder of Grills, call Crime Stoppers at 528-CASH.