On Thursday night, December 17, a 15-year-old high school football player, Zaevion Dobson was killed in Knoxville, Tennessee, when he jumped on three girls as a human shield during a string of related shootings.
Zaevion Dobson was hanging out on a porch with his brother Zach Dobson and some friends when a group of men walked up and started shooting at them.
Dobson was killed by a bullet that struck him in the head, police said. He was the only person among the group who was hit.
The girls shielded by Dobson were not hurt.
Police said the shooters who they believe may have been gang-affiliated, picked a group at random who were "just hanging out and trying to celebrate the holidays."
Rob Black, Dobson's Fulton County High School Coach. shared to WVLT. "He's a sophomore and already successful, already leading a life that's contagious, that people follow,"
He added. "[He was] so very liked by his peers and his teachers and his teammates. And that makes him successful."
Zach Dobson, the victim’s brother, told NBC-affiliate WBIR-TV that the shooting took those on the scene by surprise.
By the time the group of young people realized that Dobson had been shot in the moments of confusion that followed, it was too late.
Zaevion's death came as the second of three gang-related shootings Thursday, December 17 to December 18, police said, according to NBC News.
The first person shot was Lisa Perry, 46-year-old, who was inside her apartment at the time. She is expected to survive.
Fulton High School Executive Principal Rob Speas told NBC News on December 19 that Zeavion Dobson — who went by Zae — was "always trying to take care of other folks."
Dobson was a "class clown," he added, who loved to go up to his teachers' desks, grab their iPads, and take a picture of himself making a funny face.
