by Mark Bellinger
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - There are still a lot of questions surrounding the murder of a 14-year-old boy in broad daylight. Vincent Lewis was shot and killed outside a duplex near Germantown Thursday afternoon.
Police haven't made any arrests. Now, the child's mother is speaking out and pleading for help.
Terry Lewis was understandably sad and upset.
Thursday afternoon, someone called her in East Nashville and said her son was hurt. Lewis drove to the crime scene on 6th Avenue North looking for answers.
"The detectives, they wouldn't tell me anything. They said the couldn't, so they asked me to call his cell phone number and I did and it rang. Right there. Right there," said Lewis.
Her 14-year-old son Vincent Lewis was dead.
"That was horrible. I felt like they could have done it a little better. I mean, I did want to know, but…" Lewis trailed off.
She said Vincent was supposed to be with friends in his old neighborhood. The family moved to East Nashville several months ago, but Vincent would catch the city bus everyday to be with old friends.
"All I know is they were walking to the store. I'm not sure who he was with. I do know when the shooting started everyone left and Vincent was left there alone," said Lewis.
A maintenance man found the body outside a duplex.
"Friends don't leave friends to die in the dirt," said Lewis.
"I think I heard the shots, if that is what it was," said Taurus McCain, who lives next door to the crime scene.
McCain said it's a neighborhood in transition. New development is everywhere, but there are still problems with gangs.
"We need to step it up. This is a problem of the community. The community changes, but that element hasn't and it rears it's head in such and ugly and devastating way," said McCain.
Vincent's grandfather Maurice Pope moved to Nashville from California to be closer to his grandchildren.
They are a football family. Vincent played at Pearl Cohn last year. Pope showed us a picture showing Vincent and his uncle Marquez. Marquez Pope is a former San Francisco 49er.
"I really feel bad. I still feel bad and I don't know what to think, because I don't know what's all involved," said Pope.
A spokeswoman for Metro Police said investigators are actively pursuing leads in the case. They also think it's strange that Vincent's friends would leave after he was shot. Police are asking them lots of questions.
Anyone with information on the shooting of 14-year-old Vincent Lewis are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME.
Email: mbellinger@newschannel5.com
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Crime Scene on 6th Avenue North on Thursday, July 8, 2010
Vincent Lewis
