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Thanksgiving Day shooting suspects may be linked to multiple Knox burglaries, KPD says

Knoxville police say the victim's wounds did not appear to be life-threatening, and believe criminal activity was behind the incident.

UPDATE Friday, Nov. 23, 2018:

Two men have been arrested following a Thanksgiving Day shooting and police believe they're linked to nine burglaries across Knox County over the last week.

Around 3:37 p.m. Thursday, Knoxville Police said they were called to the emergency room entrance at Children's Hospital after a vehicle with three people pulled up with a passenger who had a gunshot wound to the abdominal area.

Investigators said the victim, later identified as 18-year-old Brandon Shane Chesney, Jr., was stabilized at the ER and then transported to UT Medical Center for an additional evaluation and treatment. The injury was not life-threatening.

According to KPD, the shooting did not occur at Children's Hospital.

"The two other occupants of the vehicle were transported to the Safety Building where they were interviewed by investigators," a release said. "According to the preliminary investigation, the shooting victim, Brandon Chesney, was the front seat passenger when he was accidentally shot by the back seat passenger. The weapon was recovered from the vehicle. Chesney refused to press charges against the person who fired the gun."

According to the police department, one of the two occupants of the vehicle matched the description of a suspect wanted for burglarizing a residence the previous night.

The Toyota 4-Runner vehicle they were driving had been reported stolen from the county within the past few days, according to KPD.

After conducting the interviews, it was determined the two individuals, Eli Ja'maine Mostella, Jr. and Elijah Manoah Glass, who are both 18, may be suspects in up to nine residential burglaries over the last week.

They face charges including burglary and vehicle theft.

Glass is being held on an $8,000 bond. Mostella, Jr. is being held on $29,000 bond.

According to KPD, Chesney had a warrant on file for his arrest for theft. He will be placed into custody once he is released from the hospital.

That investigation is continuing.

ORIGINAL STORY Thursday, Nov. 22, 2018:

A man is in the hospital recovering after being shot on Thanksgiving.

According to the Knoxville Police Department, three men were in a vehicle when shots rang out -- injuring the front passenger.

Officers said the incident is still under investigation, but preliminary information revealed that criminal activity may have been behind the incident.

KPD said the shooting appears to have happened in the Lonsdale area around 3 p.m., but officers are still working to verify the precise details behind the incident.

The victim was dropped off at the emergency room at the East Tennessee Children's Hospital and stabilized, and then taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for evaluation and treatment.

No suspects have been identified.

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