MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Christmas wasn’t be the same for one Mid-South mother.
She spent it without her son, 19-year-old Cameron Selmon, who was gunned down in Nashville. And at the same time she’s fighting for justice in his name.
“Everybody that got to know him liked Cameron,” his stepfather, Bryan Payne, said.
He was a young man with an infectious smile. Smart, fun and full of life is how is how his parents describe him.
“He had a good spirit, personality, and everything, class, charisma, he was a very, very nice young man,” Payne said.
The Southwind High school graduate had taken a few classes at Southwest, but his mom Stacie Payne said Cameron’s ultimate goal was to share that bright smile with others — he had dreams of becoming a dentist, and in general he learned work ethic at an early age through the family business.
“He would work with my husband and father-in-law on different jobs, he would brag about, I poured concrete over here, or this is where we worked,” Stacie Payne said.
Now it’s Stacie and Bryan who are working to keep Cameron’s story and memory alive.
WREG sat down with the couple two months to the date of his death.
Cameron, who’d recently relocated to Nashville, was shot and killed on October 22 on the Tennessee State University campus. No arrests have been made in the case.
“Can you imagine being stomped on by an elephant?” Stacie Payne said. “You know, that’s what my heart feels like.”
Nashville Police said a dice game led to a fight, which eventually turned deadly.
Surveillance video actually captures the shooting on camera. You see two men firing multiple shots. Three women also got hurt.
Stacie Payne said she was told Cameron was with friends but may not have been involved in the game.
“I don’t have all the information, but from my understanding he was not the one you know, shooting dice that night.”
We addressed that, along with another issue the Paynes believe added yet another layer of negativity to an already sad situation.
“I’ve heard people saying before, well, he wasn’t a student at TSU,” Stacie Payne said. “It doesn’t matter whether he was a student or not. He didn’t deserve to have his life taken.”
Now the family is pressing for answers, hoping to help police find the killers. They’ve visited Nashville to put up posters and created a website that includes a GoFundMe page. They want to boost the already $6,000 reward.
“We know that a lot of people were there, and a lot of people probably have information that have not come forward yet,” Stacie Payne said.
She said she especially hopes TSU students home for the holidays will hear her message. Either way, this mother and breast cancer survivor said she’s no stranger to a fight.
“I’m in it, I’m going to continue to fight for him.”
Fighting not only for justice for Cameron but all the other victims and students impacted by the tragedy, she said.
Nashville Police said they also believe people captured cellphone video the night of the shooting.
Anyone with any information can call Nashville Crimestoppers at (615) 742-7462.
