In the late summer evening of September 14, 2017, in East Nashville, Tennessee, the life of 17-year-old Kennda Javon Watkins, Jr. was tragically cut short. Just a couple of weeks shy of his eighteenth birthday, the young man was found in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Joseph Avenue with a fatal gunshot wound to the head. Metro Police responded to the scene around 8:30 p.m., where he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses at the scene described two Black males, both armed with
pistols, fleeing the area. One suspect was reportedly wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, while the other wore a red and black hooded sweatshirt and dark shorts. They were seen leaving in a large white pickup truck, heading towards Dickerson Pike. At the time of the initial investigation, these two individuals were considered suspects and were on the run.
Kennda's death was a profound loss for his family. His father, Kennda Watkins Sr., later recounted his last conversation with his son, a simple request for a jacket as the weather started to turn colder. He described his son as a young man who was trying to prove he could be a man, often hesitant to ask for things. The family was left to grapple with the sudden and violent end to a young life that had faced some challenges, including involvement with the juvenile justice system. His father found a letter his son had written, apologizing for his past actions and expressing a desire to fit in with friends who came from fatherless homes. The case highlighted the issue of youth violence in the city, with Kennda being the 11th teenage murder victim in Davidson County that year.
