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Knoxville police identify wounded crime scene technician as Cody Lawson

The Knoxville Police Department said Crime Scene Technician Cody Lawson has undergone surgery and remains hospitalized after being shot at while processing a scene in South Knoxville.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jul 13, 2026, 4:25 a.m. ETWritten Aug 15, 2026, 5:34 p.m. ET

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The has identified the staff member wounded early on Monday, July 13, 2026, as Crime Scene Technician Cody Lawson. The department said as of 11:50 am on July 13 that Lawson had undergone surgery and remained hospitalized. Lawson was among KPD officers and Forensics Unit staff processing a scene and canvassing for evidence on Jones Street in South . Police said officers had responded at around 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2026, to a report that shots had been fired into an occupied home at 2300 Jones Street, and that no injuries were reported in that shooting. Just after midnight, according to the department, multiple shots were fired at a KPD officer and a crime scene technician from an adjacent wood line. Police said the man since identified as , is . "This incident demonstrates the substantial risk our officers and staff take every day and every shift," Chief Paul Noel said. "It is only by the grace of God that Cody or one of our officers was not killed today, and I am profoundly grateful for that. Nonetheless, Cody has a long road of recovery ahead. We will support her, her family and her colleagues in the Forensics Unit however we can along the way, and we ask that the community uplift Cody in the days, weeks and months ahead." The department has not stated a motive, and police have not said what led to either shooting.

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Revision history

  1. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:27current

    First published.

  2. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:37current

    First published.

  3. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:34current

    First published.

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