KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Two people died from gun violence this week in Knoxville, according to the Knoxville Police Department.
On Monday, police said they found Jeremy Paul shot to death in the Old City area. Police said they believed he was homeless and are still investigating Paul's death.
On Saturday, KPD said Ricky Waters also died in a parking lot of Montgomery Village. Waters was 18 years old and a student at Fulton High School.
Aeriel Holt is Waters's cousin and an Austin East High School student. Holt said she believed Waters was killed as a result of gun violence.
"They're doing it like it's nothing," Holt said. "It's literally like picking hairs or something like that."
Gun deaths as of March 9, 2021, are down compared to last year. Scott Erland, the spokesperson for KPD, said the police department doesn't put too much stock in short-term crime data. He said the department has seen fewer shots fired this year and fewer people injured by shots fired.
"While that data is encouraging, I absolutely do not want to minimize the two gun deaths that occurred in the city the past two days," Erland said in an email. "Any loss of life is tragic, and our investigators are working vigorously to identify those responsible."
Holt read a letter she wrote to lawmakers today at a Mom's Demand Action meeting in Knoxville today. The group advocates for stricter gun laws as a way to prevent deaths related to gun violence.
Holt said after she got the call this weekend about her cousin's death, she was heartbroken.
"It's like I lost another piece," Holt said. "The people that are behind the guns, just have a second thought of what you're doing and put it down."