Four teenagers have been arrested in connection with a drive-by shooting that resulted in the death of a Tennessee high school student following a football game in late August. The arrests occurred six weeks after 16-year-old Cameron Frierson was shot in front of his younger brother, Chris, after attending a football game at Pearl-Cohn High School in Nashville on August 21, according to local police.
The suspects, identified as Jon’quavous Johns-Collins, 18, Marcelle Stem Jr., 17, Lil Tay Webster, 17, and Zachkeius Brown, 16, face charges of criminal homicide and engaging in criminal conspiracy, as announced by the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department on Friday.
Brittany Frierson, the mother of the deceased teen, confronted one of the accused in court on Friday, expressing her determination to attend every court hearing related to the case. "I don’t care how long it takes. I’m going to be here every day," she stated to local ABC affiliate WKRN-TV.
According to police, the four suspects were in a vehicle from which multiple shots were fired at approximately 10:30 p.m. on the night of the incident. Cameron Frierson, a junior at Hunters Lane High School, was struck by the gunfire and found with multiple gunshot wounds. He was transported to Vanderbilt University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Investigators are still looking into the motive behind the shooting. Witnesses reported that the shots originated from a white sedan with tinted windows, as noted by WKRN-TV.
All suspects were underage at the time of the shooting and have been charged in juvenile court, according to the police department's media release.
During the court hearing, Brittany Frierson expressed her grief and desire for justice, stating, "He was mine, and you didn’t have a right to take him from me." She also conveyed empathy for the backgrounds of the arrested teens but emphasized that it does not justify their actions. "My son did nothing to them," she remarked, adding that the suspects appeared to have premeditated their actions.
Frierson called for improved support for youth, stating, "We have to do better with our kids" and acknowledging the pain that may have driven the suspects to commit the crime.