They fear they could be next, at a moments notice, just walking down the street.
“I would say it s been really hard to walk into the school and just be like in the area cause like who s going to go next, junior Brittany Brown said.
We ll hear about the pain from a mom who’s been there and said it’s sad to see the place she calls home lose more teenagers to gun violence.
“My heart breaks to know another child as lost their life to gun violence,” Zenobia Dobson said.
In an attempt to take back their streets, community leaders are speaking up on a gang problem. They said things are getting increasingly worse.
Bracelets that Zenobia Dobson wears to honor her son, Zaevion. My heart breaks to know that another child has lost their life to gun violence, said Zenobia Dobson, Zaevion s mom. They want to be with their friends. They want to go places. They should be traveling and not even thinking about guns.
She s spent the past few years advocating for an end to the violence so that no other mother has to feel her pain. I have a lot of great memories of him, she said. There s not a day gone by that I won t miss him.
Zenobia knows that talking about solutions isn t enough. She created the Zaevion Dobson Memorial Foundation to give students college scholarships.
It s not right | Two mothers who lost sons to gun violence plead for change and healing
Zaevion Dobson died in 2015 when he shielded his friends from gunfire. Justin Taylor died earlier in February, shot and killed in a car by a friend. Author: WBIR Staff, Malik Jackson Published: 6:31 PM EST February 19, 2021 Updated: 3:24 PM EST February 25, 2021
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. Three teens have died in as many weeks in Knoxville due to gun violence. It has challenged city leaders to bring change and has caused untold pain for their families. It s like my heart literally being snatched out of my body, said Stephanie Taylor.
As light bounces off of a shiny, tall ESPY trophy sitting on Zenobia Dobson s fireplace mantle, she points to the tiny Christmas tree with a photograph of her smiling son resting beneath it.
“This family tree brings so many memories of Zaevion at Christmas and this time of year. The memories have really been a blessing for me, she said with a heartwarming gleam. So many people, my mother, brother, sisters, aunties and uncles, church family and my board members have helped me get through these years.
On Dec. 17, 2015, young Zaevion William Dobson departed, leaving a lasting legacy to the city of Knoxville and, like his mother says, leaving many others like him behind.