Hello,
Anyone who has followed me for any amount of time is aware that I have taken a strong stand against police brutality and violence in the Black community, but you are also aware of my intolerance of black on black violence, and its reflection of the self-hatred that is rampant in the black neighborhoods across America. This incident could have taken place in a number of different cities across America. Chicago continues to post record shooting and deaths each week. Small towns like Wilmington, DE have become war zones. We must be willing to take a deeper look into the cause of the willingness of black men to shed black blood withouth conscience conviction — period! ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.
Zaevion Dobson, 15, Dies Shielding Girls from Gunfire
Zaevion Dobson, 15, Dies Shielding Girls from Gunfire ~ Zaevion Dobson, Tennessee high school football star, shot to death while shielding three girls from a barrage of bullets
BY DENIS SLATTERY | Courtesy of NEW YORK DAILY NEWS | Updated: Friday, December 18, 2015, 7:17 PM
Football Star Zaevion Dobson Shielded Girls From Gunfire
NY Daily News
A 15-year-old high school football star was killed while shielding three girls during a senseless shooting spree in Tennessee, police said Friday.
Zaevion Dobson was with a few friends Thursday in his northern Knoxville neighborhood when a group of men approached them and began firing randomly into the crowd.
Dobson’s brother Zach told WBIR-TV that he was among the group sitting on a porch just after 10 p.m. when they saw the men walking up to them.
“I’m shocked. I’m really just shocked. I can’t believe it, can’t get it across my head,” Zack Dobson said. “We wer
e just sitting on the porch chillin’, and we see these random dudes walking up.”
Zaevion jumped on top of three girls to protect them from the gunfire. He was the only one hit.
Zaevion Dobson, 15, died Thursday while shielding three girls from gunfire in Knoxville.
@FULTONFOOTBALL VIA TWITTER
Zaevion Dobson, 15, died Thursday while shielding three girls from gunfire in Knoxville.
“he died laying on top of me . I love him that’s my brother man ?? rest easy zae ???? ILL NEVER FORGET YOU,” one of the girls tweeted after the tragedy.
GIRLS SHIELDED FROM GUNFIRE RECOUNT DOBSON’S FINAL HEROIC ACT
Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch said the violence started miles away when a 46-year-old woman named Lisa Perry was shot while inside her apartment.
She is expected to survive.
Rausch said Perry’s 23-year-old son, Brandon Perry, and several other men then drove to the neighborhood where Zaevion lived and “randomly fired multiple times” in a twisted retribution for the earlier bloodshed.
Brandon Perry was later found to have been shot after he crashed a car into another apartment. He died from his injuries on Friday morning.
Two other men who fled from the crash were arrested, though one was later released after being questioned.
Christopher D. Bassett, 20, was charged with being a convicted felon in possession of a weapon and probation violation, officials said.
“These cowardly and senseless acts of violence must stop,” Rausch said. “We should be prepar
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ing to celebrate the Christmas holiday, but now we have two men who are dead.”
Rausch said investigators think the shootings are gang-related, but he said there didn’t appear to be a motive to target Zaevion.
“Unfortunately, they picked a random group of young men and women who were just hanging out and trying to prepare to celebrate the holiday,” he said.
Christopher Bassett, 20, was charged in connection to the shooting and is being held without bond.
KNOXVILLE POLICE DEPARTMENT
Christopher Bassett, 20, was charged in connection to the shooting and is being held without bond.
Zaevion was a sophomore at Fulton High School in northern Knoxville.
“He was really one of our success stories,” said Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero. “Involved in sports, a mentee of one of our organizations in town. But still he falls victim to this.”
Rob Black, the coach of the Fulton football team, called Zaevion a “fine, fine young man.”
“Only a sophomore, but a very contagious young man who was very liked by his peers and his teachers,” Black said.
Much respect and honor to Zaevion Dobson, who died doing what a black man should do, protect a black women from harm. But he should not have had to die protecting a black woman from another black man. We must discover ourselves, and develop and identity that supports self-love, because we are destroying ourselves from within. There is an old African proverb that says, “If there is no enemy within, the enemy on the outside can do us no harm!” It is time to address the enemy within. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace, Ph.D.