Investigation underway after teenager killed in church parking lot
By Brendan Tierney and Daniel Smithson
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee (WSMV) — A teenager has died following a shooting Friday afternoon in Nashville, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department and confirmed by his family.
Police responded to 208 Gatewood Ave. after a call came in about a shooting at about 4:15 p.m. Police say before the shooting, a suspect and the victim, 19-year-old Antonio Rudolfo, met in the parking lot of the New Life Seventh Day Adventist Church. An altercation occurred, police said, and Rudolfo was shot multiple times and died.
Rudolfo was with his girlfriend at the time of the shooting, according to his family. She was not hurt but witnessed the shooting.
Antonio’s mother, Rogelia, spoke exclusively with WSMV’s Brendan Tierney just hours after her son was shot and killed.
“He said, ‘Mom, I am at the store. I will be back home. I love you.’ And I said, ‘I love you too. Be careful,” she said, adding her son was a very funny, good-hearted kid. “Now, I am not going to be able to hear that anymore because somebody took him away from me and his brothers and sisters. And everybody that cared about him. For nothing.”
Rogelia said Antonio was her firstborn child, and it breaks her heart to lose him. She’s looking for justice.
“Like I say, I had five heartbeats, and he was the first, and somebody took it away. Like nothing. And I need to know why,” she said. “It’s awful not being able to see your child, not being able to hug them, hold them or look at them. And then have to watch them be put into a bag into a van. Somebody sat there and shot him for no reason … It could’ve been different. It didn’t have to end this way.”
No suspects are in custody at this time. However, police say they’re following active leads. Rudolfo’s car was stolen, according to his family.
The investigation is ongoing.
We’ll update this story when more information is available.
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