1 dead, 9 injured in shooting near Tennessee State during homecoming weekend

One person was killed and nine others were injured in a shooting Saturday near the campus of Tennessee State University as the school celebrated its homecoming.

The shooting was reported on Jefferson Street in Nashville around 5 p.m. Saturday. A spokesman for the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department said it appeared that two groups were targeting each other and that shots were fired at bystanders.

Five people were taken to local hospitals for treatment, while another five went to hospitals in private vehicles.

Police said three of the victims were minors, one of whom was just 12 years old.

On Sunday afternoon, Metropolitan Police said the victim who died was identified as 24-year-old Vonquae Johnson. The other victims of the shooting are expected to recover.

The motive for the shooting is still unclear, police said. Two of those injured in the shooting are suspected to be part of it, but both declined to be interviewed at the hospital.

“It’s not good that a handful of people can cause disruption to the entire community,” said Don Aaron with Metro Police. “This kind of gun violence has to stop. We didn’t expect this to happen here with all the police and security people here. There were police and firemen everywhere.”

Twenty minutes before the shooting, Jefferson Street had reopened to traffic from the homecoming festivities.

The Nashville Fire Department was in the area for the outreach as part of the homecoming festivities. Spokeswoman Kendra Loney said her department was able to respond quickly to the shooting victims. One firefighter was taken to a local hospital for a medical issue unrelated to the shooting.

“When the gunfire rang out, our crews were right here where it happened,” Loney said. “They explained that it sounded like fireworks going off. They reacted and were shocked at the time. They ripped off their belts and made tourniquets. The innocence in this incident was taken away. We don’t know the final number of victims .We are grateful that the first responders were on the scene and we are already very grateful for that.

Metro Police’s Anthony McClain said he graduated from TSU and had been celebrating the school’s homecoming near Tennessee Titans Stadium, where the Tigers were hosting a game.

“It’s unfortunate that some people pretty much ruined it for everyone,” McClain shared. “Fortunately for us, we had quite a few officers working in the area. They were able to mitigate the carnage, so to speak. We appreciate their efforts.”

Jashawna Rucker, a bystander who had just graduated from high school, said the situation was chaos. She said that luckily no one she came with was hurt, but she saw people running and crying.

“I’m just thankful I didn’t lose my life or get shot,” Rucker said. “Today, we can’t do anything. There were children around. It’s very sad that this kind of incident happened. Last year, it was so smooth and good. You never thought it would happen this year. Suddenly happened.”

This story was originally published by Emily R. West, Bethany Davison and Hannah Urban at Scripps News Nashville.