On Sunday, November 23, 2025, Elexus “Lexy” Kate Coleman, a 21-year-old White woman, died in Bristol, Tennessee, after a late-night shooting that turned a quiet residential street into the scene of a double homicide. Originally from Cedar Bluff, Virginia, she was a lifelong resident of Southwest Virginia and a 2023 graduate of Honaker High School, where she played varsity soccer and cheered for both the football and basketball teams.
She went on to attend King University on a full honors scholarship, where she was a member of the dance and competitive cheer team. Lexy was studying education while working in private childcare and was remembered by family as a vibrant, hardworking young woman who loved children and “had a smile that would light up a room.”
Just after midnight on November 23, Bristol, Tennessee police were called to a home on Lilly Street in response to reports of gunfire. Officers arrived to find three people shot inside the residence. Two of them — Lexy and 20-year-old Deonte Wright — were pronounced dead at the scene. A third victim, 22-year-old Kevin Collin, was rushed to the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Doctors later placed Collin in a medically induced coma after he was reportedly shot four times, suffering a severe brain injury that required surgery.
Police quickly identified a suspect: 18-year-old Elijah Khalil Campbell. According to Bristol authorities, Campbell was named as the suspected shooter and called police in neighboring Bristol, Virginia, to turn himself in. Officers there took him into custody without incident. He was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Lexy and Deonte, one count of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of Kevin Collin, and additional charges including especially aggravated burglary and tampering with evidence.
After Campbell was extradited to Tennessee, a preliminary hearing was held in January 2026. A detective testified that a neighbor's surveillance video captured an argument outside the residence. He stated the video showed Kevin Collin pointing a rifle, at which point Campbell allegedly pulled out a handgun, shot Collin, and then shot Deonte Wright. Another officer testified that Campbell admitted to the shooting, claiming he panicked when he went inside the home and shot Lexy. While Campbell's attorney argued self-defense in the shootings of the two men, the judge found probable cause and bound the case over to a grand jury. In June 2026, Campbell was arraigned by video and pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The violence shattered the quiet of the residential street and left a community in mourning. Friends and family remembered Lexy as a "ray of light" and a beautiful soul. Her mother described the loss as a surreal nightmare, saying that life would never be the same. Lexy’s obituary noted that she had recently confided she felt “destined to be a mom” someday. As of June 2026, the criminal case was proceeding through the courts, with loved ones waiting for answers and accountability.
