Beloved ‘Watermelon Man’ shot during robbery dies weeks later, Tennessee family says

Irene Wright
·3 min read
2

Weeks after a robbery gone wrong, a beloved Tennessee street vendor has died from a gunshot wound, his family confirmed.

On May 15, Memphis police responded to a shooting around 9:45 a.m. at a street corner, police said in a tweet. A gunshot victim later identified as 76-year-old John Materna was taken to the hospital, according to police and media reports.

Materna was parked on a street corner when a silver Infiniti with a paper tag that read “RETIRED” pulled up to his truck and two men got out of the car to rob Materna, WHBQ reported.

During the robbery, Materna was shot in the stomach, police told WHBQ. He was armed and shot back at the robbers, the station said, but it is unknown whether they or their car were hit.

John “Red” Materna was known by his community as “The Watermelon Man,” his family said in a May 17 Facebook post.

Materna sold fruit out of the back of his truck for three decades and used the money for cruises with his wife, WMC reported.
Materna sold fruit out of the back of his truck for three decades and used the money for cruises with his wife, WMC reported.

Materna had been selling fruit out of the back of his truck from street corners for more than three decades, WMC reported, and used extra money for cruises for himself and his wife.

He was placed in the trauma intensive care unit, according to a GoFundMe started by his family in the days after the shooting.

They said he went “through two surgeries with hopefully just one more to go.”

As Materna spent time in the hospital, his community rallied around him.

On May 20, a neighbor shared a photo on Facebook of people lined up at Materna’s truck, still parked on the street and full of watermelons.

“At the corner of Homer Street and Wayne Avenue, folks gathered to buy a $15 watermelon but invariably handed a $20 and told the family to keep the change,” the neighbor wrote. “Cars drove by honking and waving their support, greeting and prayers.”

In the days following the shooting, community members flocked to Materna’s truck.
In the days following the shooting, community members flocked to Materna’s truck.

Two weeks after the shooting, Materna died from his injuries, Memphis police confirmed.

“I’ve been dreading writing this I am just lost for words. But today we lost our amazing daddy, mom lost her husband, best friend, soulmate, love of her life, our children lost their poppie,” family member April Stokes wrote in a May 29 Facebook post. “Our hearts are broken.”

A longtime friend of Materna, Randall Linn, told WREG his friend passed away Memorial Day after being taken off life support.

Police have not identified the suspects in Materna’s shooting but told WHBQ the suspects were involved in a second robbery just 10 minutes before when they tried to rob a person doing yardwork.

Memphis police said the shooting is an ongoing investigation and more information will be released as it becomes available.

“The head of the family is no longer here with us, and we feel his absence,” the family wrote on Materna’s GoFundMe page on May 30. “But we know that he is no longer in pain, and is now in a place that is more amazing than the best possible day here on Earth. We also know that this is just a temporary goodbye. We know we will see him again. We are counting on it.”

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