Philip Trenary was shot dead in Memphis on Thursday. (Memphis Chamber of Commerce)
A former airline executive and Tennessee business leader was fatally shot Thursday night as he hosted a 4-mile run, and police launched a search for his killer.
Philip Trenary, the president and CEO of the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce and former Pinnacle Airlines CEO, was shot and killed in downtown Memphis. He was hosting the annual “Move it Memphis” race, in which participants run alongside the Mississippi River.
Trenary was pronounced dead at Regional One Health hospital, according to the Commercial Appeal.
The suspect was described as a male with dreadlocks, wearing a blue shirt and driving a white Ford F150.
Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland twitteed the shooting “senseless.”
“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,” he said.
Gov. Bill Haslam tweeted that “our hearts are broken with the news.”
Trenary founded Lone Star Airlines in Oklahoma in 1984 and came to Memphis to run a regional airline that became Pinnacle, a $1 billion company with more than 7,000 employees. He left Pinnacle in 2011.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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