Blog: KPD News & Alerts

Two Juveniles Charged with First-Degree Murder in Fatal Shooting of Stanley Freeman Jr.

On Monday, March 15, 2021, Knoxville Police Department Violent Crimes Unit investigators obtained juvenile petitions charging a 14-year-old male and a 16-year-old male with first-degree murder for the February 12 murder of 16-year-old Austin-East student Stanley Freeman Jr. The identities of the suspects are not being released at this time due to their juvenile status.

The two suspects are alleged to have fired multiple shots at the vehicle occupied by Stanley Freeman Jr. as he was leaving Austin-East Magnet High School on the afternoon of Friday, February 12. The suspects then fled the scene in a vehicle. After the shooting, Freeman Jr. fled from the area of the shooting and wrecked his vehicle in the 2500 block of Wilson Avenue. He was found unresponsive at the scene and transported to the UT Medical Center, where he later succumbed to his injuries.

The motive of the shooting remains undetermined and under investigation at this time.

The two suspects are currently in custody and booked in the juvenile detention center, where they have been in custody since February 16. Both suspects were arrested on February 16 for outstanding juvenile petitions charging them with two counts of attempted first-degree murder from a shooting that occurred on January 14 at around 2:30 p.m. In that particular incident, the two suspects are alleged to have fired multiple rounds at a vehicle in the area of Magnolia Avenue and Cherry Street. No victims were struck by gunfire during that incident, but the vehicle was occupied by a 16-year-old male and 18-year-old female.

In the course of the investigation into that shooting, evidence was uncovered that linked those same two suspects to the fatal shooting of Stanley Freeman Jr. Through continued investigation and the discovery of additional evidence, warrants were obtained charging the two suspects with Freeman Jr.’s murder.

In addition to the warrants for the February 12 shooting of Stanley Freeman Jr., the two suspects were also charged with two additional counts of attempted murder stemming from a shooting incident that occurred on February 7, 2021 in the 1900 block of Woodbine Avenue involving a 41-year-old male and an unnamed juvenile. Neither victim was struck by gunfire in that incident.

The investigation remains active and ongoing at this time.

Posted by serland On 15 March, 2021 at 6:29 PM