. >> reporter: zah nobodyia dobson is preparing to bury her 15-year-old son, zaevion.e was her baby. he was shot dead by gang members in knoxville, tennessee, while trying to shield three young girls from gunfire. >> it was an honor for my son to save another individual. >> reporter: zaevion's brother, zach, was there when it happened. >> i picked him up and i set him in my arms. i was shaking. i was like, "i love you, wake up. i need you, wake up." >> reporter: two of the teenaged girls who zaevion dobson shielded from bullets have called the high school football standout a hero. >> if not for zaevion, we would probably have been shot. >> i have a military background. that's the action of heroes. >> reporter: david roush is knockville's police chief. he said zaevion was caught in the cross-fire of rival gangs. roush says one of the gang members who shot at zaevion was brandon perry. a group of men shot at brandon perry's home, and brandon perry went to retaliate, and in retaliating he shot this football star. >> that's absolutely correct. that's exactly what we know a