Zaevion William Dobson was shot to death on Thursday while shielding three girls from gunfire.
President Barack Obama praised Dobson as a hero on a tweet Sunday morning, posting a photo of the teen while also once again making reference to a need for increased gun control.
Zaevion Dobson died saving three friends from getting shot. He was a hero at 15. What's our excuse for not acting? https://t.co/hn98uGsjKZ
— President Obama (@POTUS) December 20, 2015
According to police, the shootings in Knoxville, Tenn., began Thursday night when “several men” went on a shooting spree. One of the men was identified as 23-year-old Brandon Perry, whose mother was the first person shot in the spree, according to The Associated Press. She is expected to survive.
Perry and several other men then drove to Dobson’s neighborhood and “randomly fired multiple times.” At one point, the shooters approached several people on a porch and began shooting, police said. It was then that the 15-year-old Dobson, a sophomore football player at Fulton High School in northern Knoxville, shielded the girls when the gunfire broke out.
None of the girls was injured, according to The AP.
Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch told The AP police believe the shootings to be gang-related, but not believe Dobson was specifically targeted. According to the report, Perry was later found shot after he crashed a car into an apartment and died from his injuries Friday morning.
-- The Associated Press contributed to this report
H/t: ESPN
