Detectives are working to determine where the firearm came from after police said a 15-year-old unintentionally fired the fatal round.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knoxville police are investigating how a firearm became accessible to teenagers at a North Knoxville home after a 14-year-old identified as Landon Schenk was fatally shot while another teenager was handling the gun.
The question of the weapon’s origin remains unresolved days after the Oct. 7 shooting in the 2200 block of Juniper Drive. Police spokesperson Scott Erland said detectives were working to determine where the gun came from. Authorities have not publicly named its owner, explained how it reached the 15-year-old who was handling it or announced charges against anyone over access to the weapon.
Officers were called to the home around noon and found Schenk with a gunshot wound, according to the Knoxville Police Department. He was transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving. Schenk, 14, was from Seymour, according to a publicly posted obituary.
Police said multiple other juveniles were at the residence. After interviews and further investigation by homicide detectives, authorities said they determined that a 15-year-old boy was handling the gun when a round was unintentionally discharged and struck Schenk. Police took the teenager into custody on a juvenile petition for reckless homicide. His identity has not been released because he is a minor.
Investigators have released few details about the firearm itself. Police have not said what type of gun was involved, where it had been stored before the shooting or whether the teenager brought it to the home. They also have not said whether the firearm belonged to someone who lived at the residence. Those unanswered questions have become a central part of the continuing investigation.
The homeowner was at the property when the shooting occurred and has been cooperating with authorities, Erland said. Police have not alleged that the homeowner committed a crime, and officials have not publicly identified the person. No public statement has established that the homeowner owned the gun or knew the teenagers had access to it.
The child’s death also prompted a referral to the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, according to Erland. The referral is part of the official response following the death of a child and does not by itself establish wrongdoing. Authorities have not released results from any review by the department or said whether it is examining the same gun-access questions as police.
Police initially said the teenager who died was 15 but later corrected his age to 14. The department has continued to withhold the names of both juveniles in its official statements. Schenk’s name became public through family and subsequent reporting, and his obituary records his death on the same day as the Juniper Drive shooting.
The Police Department has characterized the discharge as unintentional, while the juvenile petition alleges reckless homicide. That distinction leaves investigators focused not only on the moment the gun fired but also on the circumstances that placed a firearm in the hands of a teenager. Officials have not said whether evidence collected so far could lead to additional juvenile petitions or adult charges.
As of Oct. 11, police had not announced further arrests or publicly resolved who owned the gun and how the teenagers obtained it. The homicide investigation remains active, with detectives continuing to examine the firearm’s origin and the events inside the home before Schenk was shot.
Author note: Last updated October 11, 2026.