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Nashville, Tennessee – The quiet community of Hermitage was left shattered after the sudden and violent death of a 16-year-old teen in what police now say was a suspected gun deal gone wrong.
The Justice Report has learned that 16-year-old Zepplenin Phillips—who is White—was fatally shot just days before his 17th birthday. For the crime, police arrested 18-year-old Raphael Jobehdari. Reports indicate that Jobehdari—who is Black—was involved in another deadly shooting just earlier this year.
According to Metro Nashville police, the incident was reported just after 6:30 pm on Saturday, August 31st, when neighbors reported hearing a series of gunshots erupt on Hallborough Way.
Responding officers found the young teenage victim lying wounded in the street, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds to the neck and chest. Neighbors were said to have quickly sprung into action, providing life-saving measures and rushing Phillips to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Tragically, however, Phillips succumbed to his injuries at the hospital, his life cut short just days before his 17th birthday. Authorities launched an investigation into the apparent murder, and by the following day, an arrest had been made.
Jobehdari was formally charged after police discovered that there had been communication between him and the victim about an alleged sale of a firearm.
SWAT officers assisted in executing a search warrant at Jobehdari’s residence, where authorities found and impounded the vehicle that Phillips approached just before he was shot dead, reports say. During the search, three firearms were seized.
This was not the first time Jobehdari had been involved in a deadly shooting, however. According to reports, the suspect and another 18-year-old, Gavin Dauzart, had “exchanged gunfire” during a drug-related robbery in the parking lot of a Bellevue Kroger shopping center back in January.
Authorities reported that Dauzart died from his injuries, while Jobehdari was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he spent several days recovering after being shot in the abdomen and leg.
Jobehdari claimed self-defense in that incident, and after the District Attorney’s Office reviewed the case, no charges were filed against him at that time.
Meanwhile, the tragic loss of Zepplenin Phillips has left his tight-knit community reeling. A community vigil held at the family home saw neighbors and friends gathering to mourn the life of the teenage Phillips, taken too soon by an act of apparent Black violence.
“Violence is huge… It’s sad to say, almost common in the Nashville area,” lamented one resident, a nurse who had to save Phillips immediately after the shooting.
A GoFundMe page has been established to help Phillips’ family cover the costs of funeral and memorial arrangements. At the time of press, it has raised only $27,104 of its intended $40,000 goal.
“We are heartbroken to share the devastating news of the murder of my beloved nephew, Zeppelin, who was tragically taken from us far too soon, mere days before his 17th birthday,” read the GoFundMe. “Zeppelin was a loving son, brother, cousin and friend to so many. His warm heart, kind soul, and vibrant spirit touched the lives of everyone who knew him.”
According to the 2020 US Census Report, Nashville, Tennessee—known to many as the Country Music Capital of the World—is currently listed as 53.3% White and 24.3% Black. Similar to other American metropolitan areas with large Black populations, Nashville has observed a sharp rise in violence since the 2020 George Floyd race riots and subsequent “criminal justice reform.”
Since the summer of racial reckoning, the city has reported over 100 homicides annually, with the trend expected to continue this year, with 64 homicides recorded by the end of August.
Although this is slightly lower compared to last year, when 70 homicides were reported at the end of August, the gap has narrowed considerably in recent months. At the end of March, only 18 homicides were reported, compared to 34 homicides at the end of March 2023, a difference of 16. Now, that gap has shrunk to just 6.
While the majority of those victimized in instances of Black violence are Black themselves, young White people are all too often the unwitting targets of increasingly violent crimes.
Just last month, a gifted White teenager was shot to death after a reported “road rage incident” at a gas station in Columbus, Ohio. For the crime, police arrested a 30-year-old Black man who, like Jobehdari, later claimed he was merely acting in “self-defense.”
In that same month, a community mourned the loss of a 14-year-old White girl after she was killed and discovered on the banks of the Red River, which divides the states of Minnesota and North Dakota. In that crime, Police quickly arrested the deceased’s alleged adult-aged Black boyfriend, who initially blamed the murder on an alleged “White person.”
