22-year-old student fatally shot by ex-boyfriend during cancer walk, TN officials say
A 22-year-old student was fatally shot by her ex-boyfriend at a park in Tennessee, officials said.
Deputies responded to the shooting at about 12:15 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 19, at Shelby Farms, the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said in an Oct. 20 Facebook post. When they arrived, deputies said they found a woman — later identified as Ellie Young — dead at the scene.
Jackson Hopper, Young’s ex-boyfriend, has been charged with murder, the sheriff’s office said.
Young, a student at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, was described by friends as “walking sunshine,” according to a GoFundMe page.
“She was kind, smart, humble, genuine, and a role model to all of us,” the Chi Omega-Xi Zeta Chapter — of which Young was a member — wrote in an Oct. 21 Facebook post.
Young had just finished volunteering at a breast cancer awareness walk at Shelby Farms Park when she was killed, WMC and WHBQ reported.
According to the Dyer County Sheriff’s Office, Hopper tried to run over a deputy with his vehicle during a multi-county high-speed chase.
He was arrested and taken to an emergency room for evaluation, deputies said in an Oct. 19 Facebook post.
“Our agency is praying for the family of the young woman and we are thankful Sgt. Waller and Deputy Newman were not hurt as they performed their sworn duties to serve and protect our citizens,” Dyer County Sheriff Jeff Box said.
The Shelby County District Attorney’s Office requested that no bond be granted before a hearing, according to an Oct. 21 statement shared on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Hopper is slated to appear in court Oct. 28, according to records.
“The murder of Ellie Young at Shelby Farms Park is a heartbreaking tragedy, and my deepest condolences go out to her family and friends,” District Attorney Steve Mulroy said. “Miss Young’s case underscores the critical need to address the widespread issue of domestic and intimate partner violence.”
The investigation is ongoing, officials said.
