KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Recently, the Knoxville Police Department identified the person shot and killed Thursday in East Knoxville. They said 20-year-old Stephen Lundy was pronounced dead at the hospital.
Twenty-year-old Kamya Meyers and 88-year-old Ralph Moore were also both wounded. Police say an unidentified suspect shot Lundy and Meyers while they were on a porch on Parkview Avenue. They also said Moore was hit by a stray round.
Investigators believe the shooting was not random and could be connected to several recent shootings.
But overall, KPD said violent crime is decreasing. Local law enforcement and community leaders are working together to combat violence.
"As of this year, we have 28 homicides and 26 gun homicides," said Scott Erland, a spokesperson for KPD. "That number is much higher than we'd like to see it."
Erland says while the numbers could be lower, the number of reported homicides has decreased since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
"It is good to see them trending downward from last year and from 2020 as well," he said.
Records from the Knoxville Police Department show that 33 gun homicides were reported in 2020, and the same number was reported in 2021.
“Officers work around the clock to stop crime, but it takes efforts from the community,” he said. "Whether it's coaching, Mentorships, and other things — we pretty much just pull together."
Turn Up Knox is an organization working to interrupt cycles of violence in Knoxville. Denzel Grant, the founder of the organization, also believes there is always more to do.
"It's proactive work. Peer mediation, de-escalation, self-coaching, and all these other things. So those are the tools we're just trying to equip our community with,” said Grant.
KPD says decreasing crime overall is always the end goal.
"Today, tomorrow, or a year from now, and five years from now, it's always going to be our number one priority — doing everything we can to get it down," Erland said.