‘It’s a tragedy’ | Knoxville business owner remembered after deadly shooting

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – 55-year-old Claude Johnson is described by his longtime friend and business partner Ned Anderson as someone who had a major impact on Knoxville’s small businesses across the city.

Police reported Sunday that Johnson had been shot and killed by Robert Scruggs before the suspect stole a car from Anderson Automotive and Towing, Johnson and Anderson’s business, and shot another man on Broadway.

Previous Coverage: Man charged with murder after two deadly shootings near downtown Knoxville

Now, Anderson is remembering his friend and trying to adjust to an incredibly impactful moment in his life.

“He made a huge difference to many companies around here, and there is not one towing person in this town that doesn’t know what happened right now,” Anderson said, adding that he’s seen lots of support.

“He meant quite a bit to this business and the people around him,” Anderson said. “I can’t believe the amount of support and people reaching out that we have gotten within six hours of his passing. He is going to be really missed very much so by a lot of people.”

Anderson said getting a police call to the shop’s area of town isn’t uncommon, but it’s usually a false alarm.

“We get forty false alarms a year,” he said. “I can’t remember the last one that was not a false alarm, and this was broad daylight.” Anderson added that, for him, the loss of his friend far outweighs anything that could have been stolen.

“It’s a tragedy, you know,” he said. “Not one thing was stolen from here that mattered.” He added that there’s work that needs to be done from an administrative level through the city and Knoxville Police Department to make sure similar things never happen again.

“Not enough is being discussed about our problem here,” he said. “And I know it is small potatoes compared to other cities, but I think we can do more and make an impact here.”

Ultimately, though, he said he’s focusing on overcoming what happened Saturday.

“Don’t forget to tell people you love them because you never know,” Anderson said.

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