Steven Lamont “Junebug” Ricks was a 6-year-old boy from Nashville, Tennessee, whose life ended after a shooting inside a home on Qualynn Drive. Online sources identify him as male and describe him as a deeply loved child known by his family as Junebug. His family said he had autism, loved noodles, McDonald’s, dinosaurs, his tablet, and his nana, and that he had a joyful presence that could brighten a room.
The shooting happened on Saturday, March 28, 2026, inside a residence in the
3100 block of Qualynn Drive in Nashville. According to police accounts reported by local and national outlets, Steven’s father, 56-year-old Steven Lamont Phillips, had been caring for him at the home. Phillips allegedly told investigators he had been doing yard work outside when he found a. 380 caliber pistol in a ditch. Instead of calling police or otherwise securing the firearm, he reportedly placed it in his pocket and returned inside the house.
Inside the home, Phillips allegedly played with his son in the living room and then fell asleep on the floor with the pistol still in his pocket. Police said Phillips later reported waking up to the sound of a gunshot. He allegedly saw a muzzle flash and realized Steven had shot himself in the head. Phillips then yelled for his sister, who was also in the home and was described in reports as Steven’s legal guardian, to call 911.
Steven was rushed to Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in extremely critical condition with a head wound. He was placed on life support, but he did not survive. Funeral home records say Steven Ricks, lovingly called Junebug, died on Monday, March 30, 2026. Some memorial listings record the gun violence date as March 28, 2026, reflecting the date of the shooting, while funeral and obituary sources list March 30, 2026, as the date he died.
Authorities arrested Steven Lamont Phillips after the shooting. He was initially charged with aggravated child neglect and unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon. After Steven died, police upgraded the case, and Phillips faced a criminal homicide charge. Reports also said Phillips was prohibited from possessing a firearm because of prior felony convictions, including aggravated robbery and felony gun possession, and that he was on probation for a March 2026 felony attempted theft conviction. A judicial commissioner set his bond at $75,000.
Investigators questioned Phillips about why he did not report the gun after allegedly finding it outside. According to reported arrest-affidavit details, Phillips said his phone was dead. When asked why he did not use his sister’s phone, he reportedly said that after he went back inside, he started playing with his son and did not think about it. The case remained centered on the allegation that a loaded, unsecured firearm was left accessible to a child while Phillips slept.
In the days after Steven’s death, his family remembered him not as the details of a case file, but as a little boy whose life was full of warmth and routine comforts. His sister wrote in a fundraiser that Junebug had “such a big heart at such a small age” and that he brought joy and life to the family. Funeral services were arranged in Nashville in April 2026, including visitation, a celebration of life, and interment at Greenwood Cemetery North.
