Police officials lead a dog into the homicide crime scene at 1108 N. Hawthorne St. in Chattanooga on Monday.Map
1108 N. Hawthorne St.
Death isn't a stranger to residents on Chattanooga's North Hawthorne Street.
In the past couple of years, families living on Hawthorne have mourned the shooting deaths of loved ones. And even when the victims haven't died, they've been wounded by gunfire on the street, which is interspersed with mostly brick duplexes and dilapidated homes.
On Monday, 38-year-old Steve D. Mosley became the latest victim, gunned down inside a Hawthorne Street duplex.
The victim ran from one unit of the duplex, located at 1108 N. Hawthorne St., to the one next door after being shot several times. He asked for someone to call his brother before collapsing and dying inside, neighbors said.
The gunman fled across the street into a wooded area between homes and had not been captured by Monday evening.
Police have not released a motive, but investigators said they believe Mosley was targeted and it was not a random shooting.
Mosley's death marks the 10th homicide for the city this year.
On Monday, Sadie Underwood, who lives next door to the duplex where the shooting occurred, sat on her porch, holding her head in her hands. She didn't want to talk. Last year, she lost her grandson, 25-year-old Ronald Blackmon Jr., in a shooting a block or so away on North Orchard Knob Avenue.
Also last year, Domnick Sherrell, 17, was shot to death on North Orchard Knob. His family lives on Hawthorne Street about a block away from Monday's shooting.
With the sun beaming down and temperatures well into the 90s, detectives searched for a suspect and removed Mosley's body from the residence. Residents crowded near the crime scene tape, watching. Some wore T-shirts with the words "RIP" written on them.
"I just feel sad," said Lakendra Rivers, 19, who lives a few blocks away. "I want to know why they shot him."
In recent years, not all shootings connected to Hawthorne Street have been fatal.
In 2011, 20-year-old Saundra Williams was shot in the shoulder and face while driving in the 1800 block of North Hawthorne Street. She was on her way to give a ride to two men who were on their way to a nightclub.
In 2010, two juveniles were shot and wounded at 1113 Hawthorne St. in a drive-by.
Anyone with any information about Mosley's death can contact police at 423-698-2525.
Contact staff writer Beth Burger at 423-757-6406 or bburger@timesfreepress.com. Follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/abburger.