On a summer morning in Bristol, Tennessee, Jennifer Brewer Rooney, a 44-year-old newspaper carrier for the Bristol Herald Courier, was senselessly killed in a spree of random violence. The tragic events unfolded in the early hours of July 7, 2016, when a gunman opened fire along the Volunteer Parkway, forever altering the lives of several innocent people and shaking the community to its core.
Jennifer was on her way to pick up newspapers for her delivery route when she was struck by a
bullet. Her vehicle then veered off the road and crashed. In addition to the fatal shooting of Jennifer, the gunman also injured three other individuals. A hotel clerk, Deborah Watts, was shot and seriously wounded while working at the Days Inn. A man named David Whitman Davis sustained minor injuries from flying glass, and a Bristol police officer, Matthew Cousins, was superficially wounded in the leg.
The man responsible for this violent outburst was identified as 37-year-old Lakeem Keon Scott, an Army veteran. Armed with an automatic-style rifle, a pistol, and a large quantity of ammunition, Scott began his attack by firing into the Days Inn before indiscriminately shooting at passing vehicles. When confronted by police, he engaged in a shootout, during which he was wounded and subsequently taken into custody. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation took the lead in the case, and their preliminary findings suggested a possible motive. Scott, who is Black, was reportedly troubled and angered by recent incidents of police violence against African Americans across the country. All of the victims in the shooting were white.
Following his release from the hospital, Lakeem Keon Scott was booked into the Sullivan County Jail. He was charged with one count of first-degree murder for the death of Jennifer Brewer Rooney, seven counts of attempted first-degree murder, and seven counts of using a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. In December 2016, Scott pleaded guilty to the charges against him. He was sentenced to life in prison and will not be eligible for parole for 52 years. The district attorney noted that the plea agreement was made with the consent of the victims' families, bringing a legal conclusion to the tragic and random act of violence that claimed the life of Jennifer Brewer Rooney.
