“Ya’ll killed a kid” | Teen shot, killed in Montgomery Village

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - A memorial already sits where an 18-year-old man’s body was found in Montgomery Village while the Knoxville Police Department was investigating his death as a homicide.

According to KPD, the teen’s body was found near a dumpster at the Montgomery Village apartments around 6:30 Thursday morning. The teen, identified as Jamarion Chambers, was shot multiple times and the number of shell casings at the scene all pointed to a homicide, according to officials.

“If this {being killed} is what we’re promised, for us trying to leave, we’re all going to end up dead, regardless,” Mikayla Rogers, a close friend, said.

Rogers helped place memorabilia at the crime scene to create a lasting memory of Chambers. Several people expressed to WVLT News the teen was considered the neighborhood brother and was two months into his 18th birthday.

His close friends don’t know who could’ve done this, but told WVLT News they hoped police will find a suspect soon.

“We need to stand together, because they see people like us who live in the hood and get shot. They don’t think we have a chance of survival out here. They just look at us like we’re from the hood, but no, that man was full of life,” Rogers said.

The East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers is getting in on the investigation by taking anonymous tips. Coordinator Stacey Payne told WVLT News the smallest details someone can give can make the biggest impact.

“We need to get this information out there, we need to be able to give this family some closure, a sense of what happened and some justice,” Payne said.

As of Thursday, there were no suspects reported.

Anyone with information can leave and anonymous tip here. The anonymous tipster who leads police to an arrest can receive a cash reward.