Joshua R. Ellis, 32, was shot outside his home on Givens Lane in Clarksville, Tennessee, on the evening of July 21, 2019. Neighbors heard noises they first thought were fireworks around 9:00 p.m.; first responders found Ellis with gunshot wounds and he was flown to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. He died of his injuries the next day, July 22, 2019.

Investigators linked Ellis’s killing to a second shooting that night in the Summit Heights area, in which a 29-year-old man was shot multiple times and survived. Authorities ultimately charged eight people in connection with the death and the attempted murder, including Anthony Spencer, Kaleb Wilson, Lewis Timmons, Kamren Bennett, Dorris Acree, Jaquan Dawes, Hersey Bernard Mitchell, and Plezhane Von George. Charges reported include first-degree murder, attempted murder, and conspiracy to commit murder, and officials said the victims and suspects were acquainted.

One defendant, Dorris Acree, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound during a police standoff in July 2021 while out on bond; other defendants have been released on bond under conditions such as GPS monitoring and no contact with co-defendants as the prosecutions continue. If anyone knew Joshua Ellis or has information about the July 21, 2019 shootings, please share what was seen or heard that night.