Shooter, Victims of Random Shooting at Tanger Outlets Sevierville Identified

Authorities released the names of the alleged shooter and victims of Tuesday’s random shooting at Tanger Outlets Sevierville.

A day of shopping at Tanger Outlets Sevierville ended in tragedy when a man randomly shot two tourists outside the Coach store and then turned the gun upon himself.

The Sevierville Police Department says officers responded within minutes to Tanger Outlets Sevierville after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting an active shooter outside the Coach store just before 4 p.m. on Tuesday, April 16, 2019. The Pigeon Forge Police Department, Sevier County Sheriff’s Office, and Sevierville Fire Department also responded.

Police warned employees and customers at the mall’s stores to shelter in place while officers assessed the threat, then quickly determined from witness interviews that a single shooter was involved and committed suicide at the scene.

The preliminary investigation found the alleged shooter, 21-year-old Leon Steven Jones, approached 24-year-old Olivia Katelyn Cunningham of York, Penn. and 75-year-old John Marr of Templeton, Ma. outside the Coach store and shot both with a semi-automatic handgun, and then shot himself with the same weapon. Stevens and Cunningham were pronounced dead at the scene. Sevier County Ambulance Service transported Marr to the University of Tennessee Medical Center where he was treated and released Wednesday.

Investigators said the shooter did not know either victim, nor were the victims related. Cunningham and Marr were both visitors to the area and shopping at the mall with least one family member when the shooting occurred.

Cunningham was a graduate of Millersville University of Pennsylvania and worked as a program manager at Friendship Community in Lititz, Penn., a non-profit Christian ministry that provides residential housing and support services for people with intellectual disabilities and autism.

“I am her husband and am in shock still,” Olivia’s husband Caleb Cunningham said in a statement. “She was everything I asked for in a wife and so much more. We forgive the guy and are praying for his family too. Please everyone make sure you hold your loved ones tight. I miss you.”

Police said Jones’ drivers license listed his residency as Newport, Tenn., but family told police he was living in Sevierville. According to his Facebook profile, he attended Bearden High School and once lived in Knoxville. He was on probation for a 2015 vehicle theft at the time of the shooting.