Victim’s loved ones shocked from Chestnut Street shooting

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) — Sunday’s early morning shooting near Southside Social leaves one young woman dead. Witnesses say the shooter’s vehicle was headed south on Chestnut Street when it opened fire on two women in a car traveling north.

Cachet Peterson died from her injuries at the hospital early Sunday morning. Her death shocked her friends and family, who say the soft-spoken 21-year-old stayed away from trouble.

“If the sun had hands to grab you, she was that sun,” Peterson’s friend Ki’isha Fountain said. “She lit up every room. She made you feel as if you were the most important person that she was talking to at that time.”

Her best friend was heartbroken when she heard the news.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Tootie Posley said. “I turned my phone off and was just crying and grieve and I just couldn’t believe it.”

Posley’s family embraced Peterson as one of their own. They both met working at McDonalds and decided to attend MTSU together after high school graduation.

Posley sees her as not just her best friend but her sister.

“It’s a pain that I’ve never felt before. My heart broke, my heart dropped. I didn’t know how to take it. It’s shocking. It’s still unbelievable to this day,” Posley said.

Peterson cared for Diane Cashman’s austistic son. She says her compassionate spirit shined above all else.

“She was a rare find, and we loved and appreciated her,” Cashman said.

Loved ones say Southside Social deserves no blame for the incident, and Peterson was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.

“They didn’t have nothing to do with it,” Fountain said. “They were doing what they do every night and that was hosting a good night. So for somebody to take the opportunity for their own selfish reasons, that’s very unfair.”

Peterson’s mom couldn’t meet with News 12 today, but she does want everyone to know that she thanks God for the 21 years she did have with her daughter.

The police are still actively investigating the situation.