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From a garden trying to reduce food insecurity to a sports group working to teach kids teamwork, Knoxville organizations are aiming to counter violence with opportunities.
This summer, 13 community groups will employ young people ages 12 to 21 who have been identified as being at high risk of suffering from or perpetrating violent crime. The groups will receive money from the city to make it happen.
The city is launching the pilot program in response to a prolonged spike in fatal shootings that has claimed the lives of five Black teenagers in Knoxville this year.
Similar summer jobs programs have run for years in cities such as Chicago, New York City and Boston. Studies have found that these programs can reduce violent crime arrests and lead to benefits like increased school attendance.
We should ve been at the beach. It would ve been his first time.
Had it not been for the tragic afternoon of Feb. 12 when gunmen opened fire on Stanley Freeman Jr. as he was leaving his Knoxville high school, he would be spending his 17th birthday on the shores of Panama City Beach, Florida.
Instead, his family gathered Friday at his gravesite to lay a blanket full of his childhood photos with his big, bright smile over his resting place. Together, they tried to make sense of his sudden loss.
In the three months since his passing, Stanley Freeman s family says they have become closer than ever, leaning on each other to cope with the devastating grief. They re working to keep alive the memory of a teen who worked hard at everything he did but was killed in what police say was a case of mistaken identity.
Family and friends remember Stanley Freeman Jr. on his 17th birthday
Stanley Freeman Jr. was shot and killed in February. Friends and family gathered at his grave on the day of his 17th birthday. Author: WBIR Staff Updated: 10:04 PM EDT May 21, 2021
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. It was Stanley Freeman Jr. s 17th birthday on Friday. Even though family and friends gathered at his grave to remember the teen who died due to gun violence in February, they made sure there were still balloons. Even though little Stan is no longer with us, being 17 would have been a very important birthday for him and we just wanted to come out and show that we really miss him, said Clifford Bishop, his uncle.
Janaria Muhammad, 15, was shot to death Feb. 16 outside her East Knoxville home. Author: Cole Sullivan, John North Published: 7:52 PM EDT May 11, 2021 Updated: 11:28 PM EDT May 11, 2021
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. The boyfriend of 15-year-old homicide victim Janaria Muhammad was a gang member who had been involved in a shooting nine days before Muhammad was killed outside her home, records show.
Muhammad, also known as NaNa, was shot twice during a drive-by the night of Feb. 16 in the front yard of her East Knoxville home, autopsy records reveal. Her killing remains unsolved.
Her death is one of five deadly shootings involving students who attended Austin-East High School this year. The violence has led to calls for more community resources and a debate over the presence of law enforcement in Knox County Schools.