High School Footballer Shot Dead while Shielding his Three Friends

A 15-year-old football player has been fatally shot by several men in a random attack in Tennessee.

Zaevion William Dobson was shielding three girls from gunfire Thursday night when he was struck. The girls were not harmed.

The Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch stated that the shooting appeared to be a part of a spree that started in the home of Lisa Perry, 46, who was shot multiple times in her lower back. Perry is expected to live. A 10-year-old child, who was not hurt, was also at the home.

The police stated that Perry's son, Brandon Perry, 23, and several other men drove to Dobson's neighborhood a few hours after the first shooting, at around 10 p.m., and allegedly "randomly fired multiple times" at Dobson and his friends.

The police reported that by 2 a.m., the car, a 2002 BMW that was driven by the younger Perry, had crashed into an apartment. An uninjured woman had to be rescued. Perry was found with a gunshot wound, which he died from at the hospital on Friday morning.

The two other men, who had fled the scene of the crash, were later arrested and one was released after questioning. The other one, 20-year-old Christopher D. Bassett, was charged with "being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm and violation of probation," ABC News reported.

"These cowardly and senseless acts of violence must stop. We should be preparing to celebrate the Christmas holiday, but now we have two men who are dead,'' Rausch, who held back tears during his press conference, said reported by ESPN.com. "Unfortunately, they picked a random group of young men and women who were just hanging out and trying to prepare to celebrate the holiday."

The police believe that the shootings were gang related.

"This is a very active investigation. ... We know all three of the incidents that happened overnight are connected," Rausch said. "There were multiple individuals out there."

Dobson, who attended Fulton High School, was remembered as a "fine, fine young man" by his football coach, Rob Black.