14-year-old shot dead in Salemtown in what police call a "rare" criminal act

According to NewsChannel5:

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Metro police are working to find the person or people responsible for shooting and killing a 14-year-old boy in downtown Nashville. The teenager has been identified as Vincent Lewis.

Police said a maintenance worker found Lewis' around 3:15 p.m. in the fenced backyard of a house at 1611 6th Ave North. They believed the body had been there for a couple of hours.

Police reported he had been shot in the stomach and head.

Dozens of police officers and several detectives knocked on doors to figure out what exactly happened.

6th Avenue was shut down while they investigated. Police say shootings are rare in that area.

Anyone who has information about Vincent's murder is urged to contact Central Precinct detectives at 862-7049 or Crime Stoppers at 74-CRIME.

This is a particularly jarring event for our local community, but the media deserves praise for not sensationalizing this shooting, which word on the street says is gang-related. NewsChannel5 underscored the rarity of the crime, as did the Tennessean, which reported that such a shooting has not happened in at least a year. It wasn't long ago that the local media reported gang-related issues in North Nashville (if reported at all) with a stereotypical sensationalism that did not serve to enhance public safety.