Teen charged in shooting that killed Dobyns-Bennett High School student

KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — Leaders with the Kingsport Police Department (KPD) provided an update regarding a shooting that took the life of a Dobyns-Bennett High School student on Tuesday afternoon.

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KPD Public Information Officer Brandon Johnson said during a Wednesday press conference that the deceased student is a 14-year-old male, and his name will not be released due to his age.

“A family had to spend last night knowing that one of the people that they loved the most in this world was no longer with them,” Johnson said.

Johnson went on to say that a 14-year-old male is in custody in connection to the incident and charged with criminally negligent homicide and handgun possession by a juvenile. The suspect’s name was also not released.

“We are about 24 hours into this, there’s still a lot of questions that we have, our detectives have that we’re still trying to answer and track down, but obviously our priority is making sure that something like this does not happen again in our community,” Johnson said.

The KPD said the investigation is ongoing and additional details will be released at the appropriate time.

Kingsport City Schools (KCS) coordinated support resources for students who may be struggling following the 14-year-old’s death. KCS Assistant Superintendent Andy True said parents can also help by encouraging their children to take advantage of the resources available.

“We would just, I think, encourage families to utilize the services that are available in the school and just stay connected with your school counselor, understanding that those helps are there,” True said.

True told News Channel 11 there are five full-time counselors at Dobyns-Bennett, and the school district also has contracts for support from Frontier Health if needed.

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