Officials are planning a memorial park in the Lonsdale neighborhood of Knoxville that will honor 15-year-old Zaevion Dobson, who died shielding two girls from gunfire.
Media outlets report that the site of the proposed park is just feet away from where the teen was killed in December during what police have called a gang-related shooting. No one has been charged in Dobson's death.
City spokesman Eric Vreeland says Zenobia Dobson, Zaevion Dobson's mother, suggested the park as a safe space for children to play.
Vreeland says the Zaevion Dobson Memorial Playground and Park will cost about $60,000. Knoxville's Community Development Corp. and steel company Gerdau have agreed to donate land for the park.
Knoxville's Community Development Corp. will own and operate the playground.
A public campaign is underway to raise another $40,000 for the park.
