Donald King Jr., 19, was killed in an exchange of gunfire in a North Nashville parking lot on the evening of Saturday, September 26, 2026. The male teenager’s death left a community searching for answers and calling for more support for its young people.
The incident occurred around 6 p.m. in the parking lot of King's Vape on Jefferson Street. Donald was a passenger in a Mitsubishi SUV with two friends, ages 16 and 20.
They had backed into a parking space next to a Toyota Camry occupied by a lone male, 20-year-old Keithan Patterson. An interaction between the occupants of the two vehicles escalated, and gunfire erupted between them.
When officers from the Metro Nashville Police Department arrived at the 1800 block of Jefferson Street, they found Donald critically wounded. He was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died shortly after arrival. His two companions had already fled the scene in the Mitsubishi. They drove to Ascension St. Thomas Midtown Hospital, where the 20-year-old was treated for a non-critical gunshot wound to his shoulder.
Patterson also fled the scene in his Camry and drove himself to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment of a non-life-threatening gunshot wound. After being treated, all three surviving individuals were taken to MNPD headquarters for questioning by Homicide Unit detectives.
The investigation that followed involved analysis of surveillance camera footage from the parking lot, which police said showed Patterson firing shots during the incident. While detectives continued their work to determine who initiated the shootout and the motive behind it, they arrested Patterson on Thursday, October 1, on a charge of evidence tampering. Investigators believe that between the time he fled the vape shop and his arrival at the hospital, Patterson discarded the gun he had used. A search of his Camry, conducted under a warrant, did not turn up a weapon.
At the time of the shooting, Patterson was free on a $120,000 bond from an October 2024 arrest on three counts of aggravated robbery and one count of evading arrest. A judicial commissioner set his bond on the new evidence tampering charge at $50,000.
In the wake of the shooting, a local resident, Sasha Stevenson, spoke about the impact of such violence on the North Nashville community. She explained that when a young person is lost, the entire community feels the pain. A mother of two herself, Stevenson called for more programs, funding, and stronger mentorship opportunities for teenagers in the area as a way to prevent such tragedies.
As of October 2026, the Metro Nashville Police Department's investigation into the death of Donald King Jr. was ongoing. Detectives were still working to determine who fired the first shots and the reason for the deadly confrontation. No other charges had been filed in connection with the shooting itself.
