HALLS CROSSROADS, Tenn. — Editor's Note: Violent crime is not routine, and it is not just a statistic. Behind every victim is a family and a community, and WBIR wants to make sure the people who fall victim to it are not forgotten. More than a Number is a series meant to share their stories and highlight their humanity.
In December 2022, a 23-year-old man was fatally shot in the Halls Crossroads area by a person accused of shoplifting from a Rural King store in the area.
Authorities said Tristan Smith approached Larry McBee Jr. and got into a confrontation with him. They said McBee Jr. was accused of trying to teal ammo and bungee cords, and the two got into a confrontation towards the back of the store. During it, Smith was fatally shot.
His family considered him a hero who supported his mother after his brothers previously died around nine months apart in car crashes.
"To know Tristan, to love him — everybody loves Tristan," said Sandy Smith, Tristan's mother. "It was an absolute honor to be his mom. And then, I was chosen to be his mom."
She said his family went through seasons of grief. When his brothers died, Sean and Samuel, she said Tristan was there to support them.
"He's very protective of me and my younger son, Kyle. Always looking out for me," she said. "He was really, always very animated. Loud, larger than life."
Tristan graduated from Halls High School, and his family said he was a theatre kid at heart. His mother said he would act in school plays and watch movies, all while pursuing a degree in the arts.
For more than 500 days, his room at home has stayed untouched. His bed is still unmade from the day he woke up and went to work. His pajamas are still out, and his shorts are still lying where he left them. It's a room frozen in time for Sandy.
"I just can't change anything or take anything out," she said. "I would always smell his pillow and hug his pillow at night."
She has one remaining son — Kyle.
"How I've kept going is, just, because Tristan always kept going no matter what," he said.
Kyle and Sandy found deep bonds together after Tristan's death, grieving together the third brother to die unexpectedly in the East Tennessee family.
"They're not fully gone. They're still there. They're just, you just can't see them," said Kyle. "I can feel them every day."
At Halls High School, a scholarship was established in Tristan's honor. Sandy created it, hoping to benefit high school seniors who want to pursue theater and who share Tristan's ambitions.