Authorities have identified the victims of Sunday’s shooting that left four people dead at a Waffle House in Tennessee. They were identified as 29-year-old Taurean C. Sanderlin, 20-year-old Joe R. Perez, 21-year-old DeEbony Groves and 23-year-old Akilah Dasilva.
Two patients were receiving care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Sunday, one was listed in critical condition and the other in stable.
Nashville Mayor David Briley described the shooting as “a tragic day” for the city.
“My heart goes out to the families & friends of every person who was killed or wounded,” Briley said in an statement. “I know all of their lives will be forever changed by this devastating crime.”
Taurean C. Sanderlin, 29
Taurean Sanderlin of Goodlettsville was a restaurant employee and was killed outside.
DeEbony Groves, 21
DeEbony Groves of Gallatin was inside the restaurant and was fatally shot.
Local media writes that Groves was remembered as a brilliant young woman and tenacious basketball player. She was an exceptional student and star athlete at Gallatin High before enrolling at Belmont University where she placed on the dean’s list.
“She was a brilliant young lady, very, very intelligent and a very hard worker,” former Gallatin High School basketball coach Kim Kendrick said of Groves. “She was a very likable young lady. She was one of three seniors on her team, and she was a great role model for the other players because of her hard work and dedication to her studies and to her school.”
Groves was a senior at Belmont University majoring in social work.
CBS affiliate WTVF-TV posted a statement from the university saying the campus community is “shocked and devastated”:
Akilah Dasilva, 23
Akilah Dasilva of Antioch was critically wounded inside the restaurant and later died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Dasilva’s mother, Shaundelle Brooks, told CBS News her son was a student at Middle Tennessee State University where he pursued a career in musical engineering.
“He meant the world us. He was humble, kind, compassionate, outgoing and very creative. We could describe him in so many words. He spoke through his creativity and he entertained the world through his music,” she said. “Akilah … meaning the intelligent one who reasons.”
CBS affiliate WTVF-TV writes that Dasilva went by the nickname “Natrix.”
The family said his girlfriend, 21-year-old Shanita Waggoner, was one of those wounded in the shooting. They said she underwent surgery and doctors were “trying to save her leg.”