High School rugby player killed shielding girls from gunfire

A high school rugby player was killed as he
shielded three girls from gunfire as several men
went on a shooting spree in Tennessee, police
said Friday.
The shootings that killed Zaevion Dobson, 15,
began Thursday night, said Knoxville Police Chief
David Rausch. The first person shot was Lisa
Perry, 46, who was inside her apartment at the
time.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 Dobson lived and "randomly
fired multiple times."
The girls shielded by Dobson were not hurt, he
said.
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.
"These cowardly and senseless acts of
violence must stop," Rausch said. "We
should be preparing 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 Dobson.
"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.
Dobson's brother Zach told WBIR-TV that he was
among the group sitting on a porch when they
saw the men walking up to them.
"Why would you shoot at random bystanders
for nothing? We were just sitting there
chilling," Dobson said. "Zae, he was an
awesome kid, awesome brother. Just know
that I miss him. I miss my brother."
Dobson was a sophomore at Fulton High School
in northern Knoxville. The school brought in
counselors to speak to students taking makeup
tests Friday morning.
"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."
"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 Dobson 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. "Going to be a
tough time as we leave from here and go
meet with our football players."