Dessie Lewis Seaton IV, a 26-year-old African-American man originally from Detroit, was shot and killed in Knoxville, Tennessee in the early morning hours of January 24, 2020. Police responded shortly before 1 a.m. to a report of a shooting at the Southland Apartments on Sevier Avenue and found Seaton in the kitchen of an apartment with multiple gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Knoxville Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit opened an investigation but has not publicly identified a suspect or announced any arrests. Motive and the circumstances leading up to the shooting remain unclear. Investigators asked the public for tips and anonymous information through the city’s crime hotline and social media.

If anyone was at the Southland Apartments that night or has information about Seaton’s movements or associates in Knoxville, please contact the Knoxville Police Department.