NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A beloved community member is being remembered for the impact he leaves behind, while police continue searching for the shooter.
Lubunga Lumenge was found shot Thursday morning outside of his South Nashville apartment complex — the Residences at Stonebrook.
“It’s really, it’s really devastating,” Mto Biko Biko told News 2, saying they first met in church.
When Biko Biko heard the news, he sat outside of his pastor’s apartment in disbelief.
“It’s really shocking,” he explained. “I was really devastated feeling like, is this real or am I just dreaming.”
Lumenge was an essential part of his community, as he led the prayer team in worship.
“He was a good person. He was a good person because he was someone who was really attached to the community and someone who was really willing to help other people and someone who was really concerned with other people’s problems or difficulties.”
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That’s a gift he says Lumenge brought to the U.S. from Tanzania where he was a teacher.
“He’s originally from the Congo, but we all grew up in Tanzania after we flee the war in the Congo. He used to be a teacher back in Tanzania, and then, when he moved to the U.S., from what I know, in Dallas, he then started serving God in a church there in Dallas,” said Biko Biko.
Lumenge’s life of adversity leaves a crime scene like this hard to grasp.
“In our community, it’s really shocking. We understand if somebody dies from sickness, we understand. If somebody is shot, which is not part of our culture, we really, really feel bad and then devastated,” adding that his concern now is getting justice.
While their community prays for answers, there is one Biko Biko feels confident in.
“We believe he must be gone to heaven.”
He says Lumenge leaves behind a wife and kids.
Neighbors at the Residences at Stonebrook tell police they heard a single gunshot around 4 a.m. Thursday. Lumenge was found several hours later.
Metro police haven’t released a motive or any details on the shooter. If you have any information, call (615) 74-CRIME.
