Do you know who murdered Dwayne Goines in 2017? In the Lonsdale neighborhood of Knoxville, Tennessee, a burst of gunfire on the evening of March 25, 2017, shattered the peace and irrevocably altered the lives of many. When the chaos subsided, Dwayne Goines, a 28-year-old male, was left with life-threatening injuries. He was rushed to a local hospital but ultimately succumbed to his wounds. The shooting, which took place near the intersection of Minnesota Avenue and Pascal Drive, was described by authorities as a gang-related incident.
The sheer violence of the event was evidenced by the more than 80 shell casings that littered the scene in the aftermath.
The gunfire that claimed Goines's life also injured four other individuals. Among the wounded was a 15-year-old boy who was struck by a stray bullet in the shoulder while he was inside a nearby apartment. His injury, while not life-threatening, served as a stark reminder of the indiscriminate nature of the violence that had erupted. The brazenness of the shooting, which saw bullets strike homes and cars, left the Lonsdale community deeply shaken and fearful. Residents described a scene of terror, with dozens of shots fired in a spray from a parking lot behind a townhouse.
In the wake of the deadly shooting, the Knoxville Police Department launched a homicide investigation. Investigators believed the shooters were affiliated with the same gang. Despite the public nature of the shooting and the numerous witnesses in the densely populated residential area, the investigation has been met with significant challenges. Authorities publicly appealed to the community for anyone with information to come forward and assist in bringing those responsible to justice.
As of late 2025, the investigation into the death of Dwayne Goines remains ongoing and is considered an unsolved murder. No arrests have been publicly announced, and no suspects have been formally charged in connection with the shooting. The case continues to be a painful open wound for Goines's family and the Lonsdale community, a stark and unresolved reminder of a violent evening that claimed a young man's life and left a neighborhood searching for answers and an elusive sense of peace. The lack of resolution in the case underscores the difficulties that law enforcement can face in gang-related violence, where fear and a code of silence can often impede the path to justice.
