### Fatal Shooting Near Tennessee State University Mars Homecoming Week

Nashville was shaken on Saturday when a shooting near Tennessee State University resulted in ten people being injured, one of them fatally. The fatality is identified as 24-year-old Vonquae Johnson. According to Metro Nashville Police, the injuries among the victims vary significantly, from critical conditions to minor graze wounds.

Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron reported that the incident, which occurred shortly after 5 p.m. local time, involved two groups exchanging gunfire from opposite sides of the street. As of now, no arrests have been reported.

Law enforcement officials informed The Tennessean that two of the injured individuals are refusing to cooperate with police interviews and are suspected of having been directly involved in the shooting. Authorities conducted several interviews at the scene and in area hospitals to gather more information about the incident. "We are confident that at least one of the persons who is at a local hospital was involved in the actual gunfire, was shooting, had a gun," Aaron stated.

The shooting came as a shocking end to Tennessee State University's homecoming week. Earlier on Saturday, a parade took place on Jefferson Street, the same location where the violence later unfolded. The street had been closed to traffic for much of the day but was reopened about 20 minutes before the gunfire erupted.

"This type of gun violence has just got to stop," Aaron said. "We would never have expected this to have taken place. There were police officers everywhere as well as firefighters."

Kendra Loney from the Nashville Fire Department (NFD) revealed that NFD employees present on Jefferson Street for the community event quickly transitioned to first responders once the shooting began. "We are upset. We are angry about that disruption," Loney remarked. "The innocence in this event was taken away and lives were endangered."

Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell expressed his dismay on social media, recalling his own participation in the parade that morning. "What was a joyous atmosphere is tonight very different because of a senseless act of violence carried out by people who didn't care who else might be caught in the crossfire," he wrote.

The somber events have cast a shadow over what should have been a celebratory occasion, leaving the community to grapple with the aftermath of another tragic instance of gun violence.