Body-camera videos show them finding Anthony in a bathroom stall and ordering him to show his hands. Three police officers arrived at the school to look for Anthony, joining a resource officer assigned there. Thompson Jr., 17, had pushed her daughter and pulled her hair. Then on April 12, a mother called 911 to report that her daughter's ex-boyfriend, Anthony J. On March 9, Jamarion 'Lil Dada' Gillette, a 15-year-old aspiring rapper and runaway who had not attended classes since the fall, died after showing up at a hospital with gunshot wounds. Some students, parents and teachers said it was too much. The Knoxville Police Department increased patrols around Austin-East, allocated three officers to the area when school dismissed students, and activated a team to reduce violent crime, sending uniformed and plainclothes officers to areas of East Knoxville, the Black side of town. In response to the deaths, the City Council approved a $1-million proposal to fund programs to stem gun violence. No one has been charged, and no witnesses have come forward. 16, Janaria 'Nana' Muhammad, a 15-year-old co-captain of the school’s dance team, was killed by gunfire outside her home. Stanley's grandmother, who had custody, said she believes it was a case of mistaken identity: He was not affiliated with any gang, but he looked like a boy targeted by gang members. Even so, a month later a 14-year-old and a 16-year-old - both already in custody after firing multiple rounds at a vehicle in January - were charged with first-degree murder. Surveillance videos showed that multiple Austin-East students witnessed the shooting, but few came forward. 12, Stanley, a 16-year-old junior, was gunned down as he left the school in his car to go to work. The shooting is believed to be an accident. He was pronounced dead at a hospital, and the next day a 17-year-old - his friend - was charged with criminally negligent homicide. 27 when Justin Taylor, 15, was found unconscious and bleeding in a car. Much of the rest remains a mystery, leaving residents to speculate about gangs or revenge or mistaken identities or stray bullets. The killings of the high school students have two things in common: All involved guns, and all the victims and all the known suspects were Black. The reality in many places is that the causes of violence are often grimly unknowable. The killings occurred as much of the nation was focused on police brutality and racism highlighted by the prosecution of Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering an unarmed Black man.īut the deaths in Knoxville - even the police shooting - don't yield to the familiar narratives of white versus Black, cop versus community, the armed versus the unarmed. It’s going to take a whole village of people.” “We are not just blaming the system,” he said. “We have a threat inside the school, we have a threat on the streets, and then we’ve got a police department we can't trust,” said Clifford Bishop, 59, whose great-nephew Stanley Freeman Jr. She also worked as a counselor at Austin-East and as a systemwide Project GRAD facilitator.A woman expresses her anger at the scene of a shooting at Austin-East Magnet High School on April 12. Campbell previously served as an assistant principal at Austin-East and Hardin Valley Academy. Campbell has done an outstanding job as the district ombudsman, and I believe her ability to lead a strong team, to shape school culture, and to leverage relationships with stakeholders and community to create the necessary structures to support academic achievement are the perfect combination for this role.”Īccording to KCS officials, Campbell is a 1987 graduate of Austin-East who has served as the KCS ombudsman since 2017. “Since then, the A-E community has endured several tragic events, and identifying the best principal for A-E became my top priority as superintendent. Langlois accepted the offer to become the KCS Director of Advancement and Diversity, I knew it was critical to find a strong leader for Austin-East,” said Superintendent Thomas. Tammi Campbell has been named the new principal and will replace Nathan Langlois, who has been appointed as the Director of Advancement and Diversity in the KCS Human Resources Department. (WVLT) - A new principal has been named to Austin-East Magnet High School, according to Knox County Schools Superintendent Bob Thomas.

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