A shooting on the streets of Nashville in broad daylight has taken the life of a 14-year-old boy who ran from state custody. The teen was identified as Tirell Hill.
The incident happened shortly after 11:20 a.m. Friday on Phipps Drive, just off Kings Lane in the Bordeaux area.
Officials with the Metro Nashville Police Department responded to the scene after reports of shots fired. Witnesses said Hill was shot in the street.
Hill was transported to the hospital where he died from his injuries.
It was not clear how many times the teen was shot, but neighbors said they heard 7 to 10 shots.
Neighbors told NewsChannel 5 shootings were not a common crime near these streets.
JoeAnn Cunningham has lived near the intersection for 30 years. She said to hear about a shooting is shocking.
"I thought it was fireworks but I had no idea someone had gotten shot out here. It's generally kind of quiet when the kids are out they may get in a little trouble. It's nothing to where you would imagine anybody would be out here shooting," she said.
Police said they believed Hill was targeted. He said the suspect was in a black Nissan Altima with dark tinted windows and a spoiler on the trunk.
"It's kind of scary to think that somebody at that age is targeted and got killed it's hard to believe," Cunningham said.
Hill had no known ties to the area. It appeared the suspect was not familiar with the neighborhood either. Witnesses reported seeing the getaway vehicle drive down a dead-end street before turning around and fleeing the area.
Lunn Drive and Phipps Drive were closed as a result of the shooting and investigation.
Hill had apparently run away from a home in Antioch on May 19, where he was in the custody of the Tennessee Department of Children's Services.
Investigators were working to determine where Hill had been in the last two weeks and who he had been with. They wanted to know if anyone had any clues about who would want to harm the teen.
Anyone with information about Hills whereabouts in the last week, or who had details about the shooting, should call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME (615-742-7463), or call the North Precinct at 615-862-7889.
