Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A teen is arrested and an 8-year-old girl is hospitalized in stable condition following a shooting Tuesday afternoon at a Knoxville apartment complex.
Knoxville Police Department officials say the shooting happened around 5:00 p.m. at the Cassell Ridge Apartments on Cassell Valley Way, and an 8-year-old girl in the area was struck by gunfire. The department said she was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for injuries that are considered non-life-threatening.
An investigation by officers identified a 14-year-old boy as the shooting suspect. KPD says he allegedly fired at a car with multiple people inside due to an apparent ongoing conflict.
The teen is being charged on juvenile petitions for multiple offenses, including attempted first-degree murder, felony child abuse and weapon charges.
The girl was taken to UT Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries, KPD said. (Courtesy: KPD)
Chattanooga, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has issued a Silver Alert for a missing Hamilton County man.
TBI officials issued the alert Tuesday, February 4 for 62-year-old Frank McDonough who was last seen at his home on Imperial Drive in Chattanooga Monday morning.
McDonough is described as being 6′ tall and 152 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes.
Additionally, TBI says McDonough may be driving a charcoal gray 2007 Ford Mustang TN license plate 789AE8 and that he has a medical condition that may impair his ability to return safely without assistance.
Anyone with information regarding McDonough’s whereabouts is asked to call 1-800-TBI-FIND.
McDonough has a medical condition that may impair his ability to return safely without assistance. (Courtesy: TBI)
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A man is facing multiple charges following a shooting incident Monday night near downtown.
Knoxville Police Department officials say officers were called just before 6:30 p.m. to a shooting in the 1100 block of Lula Powell Drive. They found a 42-year-old man suffering from a minor gunshot wound; he was transported to a local hospital.
KPD says officers arrested the suspect, 35-year-old Herrera Johnson, after finding him behind 957 E. Hill Avenue in possession of a handgun as well as suspected fentanyl.
KPD officers say Johnson appeared to be intoxicated. Officials say he later admitted to shooting the victim to Investigations Bureau detectives.
Johnson was charged with aggravated assault, possession of a firearm with intent to go armed, schedule II drugs and public intoxication.
KPD said that 35-year-old Herrera Johnson was taken into custody on multiple charges. (Courtesy: KCSO)
The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has selected 50 standout women’s college basketball players for its 2024-25 Ann Meyers Drysdale Award Midseason Watch List, and Tennessee’s Talaysia Cooper is one of them.
Members of the association’s board of directors chose the players for consideration for the National Player of the Year. All Division I players remain eligible for the award.
Cooper, a 6-0 redshirt sophomore guard, paces No. 19 Tennessee at 17.5 points per game and also leads the team in rebounding (5.9 rpg.), steals (3.2 spg.) and blocks (0.9), and is second in assists (3.3 apg.). She is shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 30.4 percent on threes, and she is fourth on the team in three-pointers made with 24.
The native of Turbeville, S.C., has scored in double figures in 18 of 21 games thus far, including 10 games with 20-plus points. She has scored 10 or more points in a quarter on 10 occasions this season, most recently doing so twice on Sunday at Missouri (14 in the first and 10 in the third) en route to a personal SEC high of 27 points vs. the Tigers. She tied a career high with five three-pointers made vs. Mizzou.
Defensively, Cooper has been a menace to opposing teams, racking up 70 steals to rank 13th nationally and while standing ninth in steals per game at 3.20. Against Oklahoma on Jan. 5, she racked nine steals, tying for the third-most in a game in program history.
Earlier this season, Cooper was named the Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week and the SEC Player of the Week on Nov. 19. She earned those honors after logging a career-best 33 points vs. Liberty and carding her first career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds vs. Middle Tennessee.
The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award winner is to be announced at the NCAA Women’s Final Four in Tampa, from April 4-6. The formal presentation of the trophy will follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis.
The Ann Meyers Drysdale Award is presented annually to the women’s national player of the year by the USBWA. Named for the legendary UCLA guard, the award was first presented in the 1987-88 season and formally named in Meyers Drysdale’s honor in the 2011-12 season. Ann Meyers Drysdale played at UCLA from 1974-78, which pre-dates the USBWA All-America selections. She was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1993 and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 1999.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – Two University of Tennessee men’s basketball players are among the choices for the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List.
Fifth-year guard Chaz Lanier and senior guard Zakai Zeigler are both on the 50-name list, as revealed Monday afternoon by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA). The complete list of selections can be found HERE on the USBWA website.
Members of the association’s board of directors chose the players that will be considered as contenders for the National Player of the Year. All Division I players remain eligible for the award.
Tennessee is one of seven schools with multiple designees on the midseason list, alongside Duke, Gonzaga, Iowa State, Kentucky, Purdue and Rutgers. It was one of two, joining Rutgers, with two nominees on the John R. Wooden Midseason Top 25 Watch List, released Jan. 7.
Lanier, a fifth-year guard, is averaging a team-best 17.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.1 steals for the Volunteers. He is the fifth-leading scorer in the SEC, while pacing the league in total made 3-pointers (79) and 3-point makes per game (3.59), the latter of which are both top-five nationally.
Zeigler, a senior guard, is posting 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, an SEC-high 7.4 assists and a team-best 2.1 steals per game, the latter of which is fifth in the conference. He ranks fifth in the country in assists average, as well as top-40 in steals average, plus sixth in the SEC in free-throw percentage with an 86.7 clip.
The Oscar Robertson Trophy winner is to be announced at the NCAA Men’s Final Four in San Antonio, from April 5-7. The formal presentation of the trophy will follow at the annual USBWA Awards Luncheon hosted by the Missouri Athletic Club in St. Louis. A final watch list will be released in early March and those chosen will be included on the USBWA’s annual awards ballot.
Lanier, Zeigler and fourth-ranked Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC) take the court Wednesday at 7 p.m. for their next game, a matchup with No. 15/16 Missouri, live on SEC Network from Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A new bill introduced in the Tennessee Senate would require sexual offenders to report to authorities their membership in a church or another religious organization.
Sen. Becky Duncan-Massey of Knoxville, is pushing for sex offenders to have to report to authorities if they’re registered members of a Tennessee religious organization. In turn, the bill (SB0451) would also require the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to provide all public information about an offender to any church, temple, or other religious group or organization in Tennessee where the offender is a member.
So far, Sen. Massey has sponsored nearly 30 bills in the 114th General Assembly.
Sen. Becky Duncan-Massey’s (R – Knoxville) bill would require sex offenders to report if they are part of a church, temple or religious group. (Tennessee State Capitol / Credit: State of Tennessee)
Anderson County, TN (WOKI) The Tennessee Highway Patrol reports a man died in a head-on crash Sunday afternoon in Anderson County.
THP officials say a Ford Escape being driven by 60-year-old Salvatore Varsalona was traveling South on Brushy Valley Road just before 6:00 p.m. on Sunday when it crossed the double yellow line and hit a Ford F-250 that was traveling North near Pumpkin Hollow Road and came to a stop in the middle of Brushy Valley Road.
THP says Varsalona, who was not wearing a seat belt, was killed in the crash. The driver of the Ford F-250 was not injured in the incident.
Additional information was not released.
The crash happened just before 6 p.m. Sunday on Brushy Valley Road. (Courtesy: THP)
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – University of Tennessee men’s basketball standout Zakai Zeigler is among the selections for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Midseason Top 10 Watch List, as revealed Monday afternoon by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
The annual Bob Cousy Award, named after the Class of 1971 Hall of Famer and former Boston Celtic and Holy Cross guard, celebrates its 22nd year by highlighting the top point guard in Division I men’s college basketball.
A senior guard from Long Island, N.Y., Zeigler is among the 10 midseason selections for the second consecutive year. He is the only player who made the list in both 2023-24 and 2024-25.
Zeigler is averaging 12.3 points, 3.5 rebounds, an SEC-best 7.4 assists and a team-leading 2.1 steals per game this season for fourth-ranked Tennessee (18-4, 5-4 SEC). A John R. Wooden Award Midseason Top 25 Watch List selection, Zeigler owns 15 outings with seven-plus assists on the year, fourth-most in Division I.
The 5-foot-9, 172-pounder ranks fifth nationally in assists average, as well as top-40 in steals average. Zeigler, the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year, is one of two players in history, alongside Arkansas’ Kareem Reid (1995-99), to record 1,300 points, 600 assists and 200 steals at an SEC school.
Fan Voting for the Cousy Award will begin Feb. 7 on hoophallawards.com. The Fan Vote will count as one committee vote during the finalist selection process.
In March, the top 10 will be narrowed to just five finalists. Then, in late March, those five will be presented to Cousy and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee, at which time winners will be selected. The Selection Committee for the Bob Cousy Awards is composed of top men’s college basketball personnel, including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers.
The winner of the 2025 Bob Cousy Award will be presented on a to-be-determined date, along with the four other members of the Men’s Starting Five. Additional awards being presented include the Jerry West Award (Shooting Guard), Julius Erving Award (Small Forward), Karl Malone Award (Power Forward) and the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award (Center), in addition to the Women’s Starting Five.
Last year, for the first time, a Volunteer took home one of the Starting Five honors, as Dalton Knecht claimed the Julius Erving Award.
For more information on the 2025 Bob Cousy Award and the latest updates, visit hoophallawards.com, as well as follow @hoophallu and #CousyAward on X/Twitter and Instagram.
Zeigler and the Volunteers are back in action Wednesday at 7 p.m. when they wrap up a three-game home stand versus No. 15/16 Missouri, live on SEC Network from Food City Center.
To keep up with the University of Tennessee men’s basketball team on social media, follow @Vol_Hoops on Instagram and X/Twitter, as well as /tennesseebasketball on Facebook.
Bob Cousy Award Midseason Top 10 Watch List Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State Walter Clayton Jr., Florida Keshon Gilbert, Iowa State Dylan Harper, Rutgers Kam Jones, Marquette Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga Mark Sears, Alabama Javon Small, West Virginia Braden Smith, Purdue Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
Knoxville, TN (WOKI) A man is facing an attempted murder charge after Knoxville police say he fired shots at a woman on Hawthorne Avenue.
KPD says officers responded around 9:40 Saturday night to the 200 block of the roadway on a report of shots fired.
An investigation revealed that multiple suspects had fled the scene in a dark-colored Cadillac sedan which responding officers quickly spotted and stopped, arresting the driver 47-year-old Benjamin Shuttlesworth after a search uncovered multiple loaded firearms, including a handgun stolen out of Pennsylvania.
According to police, Shuttlesworth fired at the 41-year-old woman because he was angry with her.
Shuttlesworth is facing multiple charges in the incident, including attempted first-degree murder, felony reckless endangerment and felony vandalism. In addition, KPD says further investigation revealed that Shuttlesworth also had an outstanding warrant out of Knox County for aggravated domestic assault.
Police said the officers found four loaded handguns, including one reported stolen out of Pennsylvania, and a loaded shotgun in the middle of the road. (Courtesy: KPD)
Gatlinburg, TN (WOKI) Sad news over the weekend from officials with the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
GSMNP officials say missing hiker, 73-year-old Ann Houghton, was found dead inside the park Sunday afternoon around 2:00 p.m.
Houghton was last seen on Tuesday; her car was found at the Smokemont Campground on Saturday.
Officials say Houghton planned to hike the Bradley Fork, Chasteen Creek, Hughes Ridge and Enloe Creek trails and that her body was found about a quarter mile off of the Enloe Creek Trail.
“Ann was an enduring and beloved member of our Smokies Community. She was a dedicated volunteer and avid hiker who shared her passion for the park with many visitors,” said Charles Sellars, Acting Superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park. “Great Smoky Mountains National Park offers condolences to her family and friends.”
Officials say Houghton was an avid hiker and volunteered with the park for more than 20 years; she was nominated for a National Park Service George and Helen Hartzog Award for Outstanding Volunteer Service in 2022.
Several agencies assisted the park with search operations, investigations, and emergency services, including Cherokee Fire and Rescue, BUSAR, Macon Volunteer Fire Department, Cowee Volunteer Fire Department, Appalachian Mountain Rescue Team and the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office.
Park officials said she was a dedicated volunteer and avid hiker who shared her passion with many visitors. (Courtesy: GSMNP)
