In the Cayce neighborhood of East Nashville, on January 24, 2022, a conversation between friends would tragically be the final moments for Shaquille Cotton, a 28-year-old male. Cotton was standing on the passenger side of a silver vehicle in the 600 block of South 7th Street, engaged in conversation with the occupants, when an assailant approached him from behind and opened fire. The sudden violence left Cotton critically injured, and he died shortly after arriving at Vanderbilt Medical Center.
The immediate aftermath of the shooting prompted an investigation by the Homicide Unit detectives of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department. They determined the shooting was a targeted attack and sought the public's help in identifying the gunman. Surveillance photos released to the public showed a Black man with long dreadlocks, wearing a gray jacket, black jeans, and carrying a black backpack.
A month later, on February 24, 2022, a breakthrough in the case came when undercover detectives with the Specialized Investigations Division's TITANS Unit arrested 28-year-old Chason Yearby. The investigation, led by Homicide Unit Detective Chris Dickerson, identified Yearby as the suspected killer. He was taken into custody without incident as he emerged from a South Nashville apartment on Zermatt Avenue. Yearby was subsequently charged with criminal homicide and held without bond.
