As Nashville’s murder rates hit their highest level in five years, a mother of one of the victims is speaking out.
Kenny Hatcher, 18, was killed outside of his home on Vine Hill Road back in August. He is one of 75 people killed in Music City during 2015. That's the highest number since 2011.
Hatcher had just passed the exam to become a member of the National Guard. A few minutes before his death, he was on the phone with his mother.
“My neighbor called me screaming. ‘Where are you? Get here! Get here! Kenny just got shot!’ and I was like ‘I just hung up with him,’ my face dropped,” Natasha Fite said.
Fite came rushing back to her home but found her youngest son on a stretcher right before he was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Hours later, the mother got news her son didn’t make it.
“I was like ‘didn't make what?’ and [the doctor] said, ‘He's gone, he passed.’ Immediately I just flipped out,” Fite said.
Now, five months later, her anger has shifted into action.
Fite and other mothers who have lost their children to murders are planning on speaking out to the youngest children in neighborhoods. She hopes her words keep children away from using guns in a reckless way.
“We are going to talk to kids about how important it is not to pick up a gun not to shoot a gun,” she said. “Let them know what can happen if you do.”
Fite also hopes that Metro Government adds more security to her Vine Hill community. She plans on circulating a petition that asks for increased security around the area.
Hatcher’s alleged killer is still awaiting a trial date.
