Chancellor Eddins family seeks answers after he was fatally shot in Nashville bar

Watching the Tennessee-Florida game last week was difficult for William Eddins.

Not just because he's a Tennessee fan and his team lost.

Eddins' son Chancellor, 35, was a Florida Gators fan. The two would routinely call each other during the annual rivalry game to talk trash after big plays. Chancellor in Nashville, behind enemy lines, rooting for the Gators and William in Douglasville, Georgia, rooting for the Volunteers.

But Saturday, Eddins did not receive his customary call from his son. Though he knew the call would not be coming, William routinely checked his phone, hoping to see a Nashville number appear.

Chancellor Eddins was fatally shot on Feb. 18 inside TRVTH Bar on Dickerson Pike in northeast Nashville following an argument that left another man injured. Seven months after the shooting, William and Casaundra Eddins are still looking for answers. The investigation is ongoing.

Bonded by love, sports

Sports dominated the Eddins household for Chancellor and his two brothers.

The family bonded over a love of watching, playing and discussing sports.

Casaundra was a state champion basketball player. Chancellor became a tackling machine on the football field.

"We enjoyed talking about the game, enjoying the games, watching the games and going to those things," Casaundra said.

A flood of memories comes back each day for the Eddins.

In a state playoff game, William remembers Chancellor having 21 solo tackles and an interception against Statesboro. Mom remembers a tackle for loss of around 15 yards that changed the complexion of the game, giving Douglasville a win.

Chancellor also played at Hutchinson Community College in Kansas for a year.

On the field, Chancellor tried to emulate his favorite player on his favorite team, former Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, and also loved Deion Sanders, a highlight-reel defensive back who played for the Ravens at the time.

The same Sanders who Chancellor watched pluck passes out of the air for the Ravens was the man who coached Jackson State in the last football game Chancellor and his mom and dad watched together in person.

Every day is a challenge

Impatiently pacing, swiping on their phone and making sure their ringer volume is loud enough has become a daily habit for William and Casaundra. They hold out hope Nashville police will give them answers, an update, anything about their son's case. After seven months, they are nowhere closer to knowing who shot Chancellor.

"Each day presents a different challenge," William said. "And it's an array of emotions that I hold, from anger to sadness, cheerfulness and the recollection of memories that flash back during certain times."

Other have felt the broken heart left by Chancellor's homicide.

"This didn't just affect his parents," Casaundra said. "My entire family, his uncle and 7-year-old son want answers that we can't even answer for him."

William said he and his wife are grieving and coping the only way they know how.

"We go through a day-to-day process where we find ourselves suppressing our feelings against one another," William said. "So I suppress what I'm feeling so my wife don't feel it."

Faith in God helping family

Faith has helped the Eddins get up each day with a sense of hope that justice for their son will come.

For five years, Chancellor made a name for himself as a welder and fabricator, working for Nissan and then Wolf Industries in La Vergne.

So why aren't there more arrests? Tennessee has growing epidemic of guns stolen from cars.

Chancellor and the other man who was shot were inside the bar when they got into an argument with another person, according to a police release. As the two were leaving the bar, shots were fired. Police did not release any information about suspects in the case.

A military man, William said he and Casaundra decided to have Chancellor in Lewisburg, Casaundra's hometown, w raised their son with love at Fort Bragg, North Carolina before moving to Georgia.

"He was a joyful kid," William said. "He came into this world with no struggles."

With each passing day, the Eddinses wait by the phone, knowing now it will not be Chancellor on the other end bragging about Florida’s win over Tennessee, but hopeful it will be Metro Nashville police with answers.

Reach reporter Craig Shoup by email at cshoup@gannett.com and on X @Craig_Shoup. To support his work, sign up for a digital subscription to www.tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Chancellor Eddins family wants answers after his homicide in Nashville