On the morning of June 7, 2020, 30-year-old Darryl Florence, known to family and friends as D. Flo, was shot inside a vehicle in the parking lot of the Red Roof Inn on the 1300 block of Kirby Road in West Knoxville. Officers with the Knoxville Police Department responded to a call about 4:20 a.m. and found Florence suffering from at least one gunshot wound; the car he was in had crashed into roughly six other vehicles in the motel lot. He was taken to UT Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and later died.

The death was classified as a homicide and opened an investigation by the Violent Crimes Unit, which stated investigators do not believe the shooting was random. Florence is remembered by his mother, Ruth Ann Crump, his sister Darresa Florence, and as the father of two sons, Tre'Veyon and Keilan. The family has publicly appealed for information; the case remains unsolved and no arrests have been announced.

If anyone has information about the shooting or was in the area that morning, please contact the Knoxville Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit.