Suspect in Antioch Theater Shooting Dead
Metro police say a suspect who opened fire in a Antioch theater this afternoon also had a hatchet and may have injured one person with the hatchet.
Metro Fire Department spokesman Brian Haas said three people were injured with pepper spray, and that one of the three people had superficial wounds that may have come from the hatchet.
Police said about 2:20 p.m. they were examining two backpacks, one on the suspect and one left in the theater, to make sure they are not dangerous. Police spokesman Don Aaron said officers entered the theater showing Mad Max through the projection room and engaged the suspect in gunfire.
“The officer started at the projection room and started clearing down,” Aaron said. “He encountered the gunman. The gunman opened fire on the South Precinct officer. That officer returned his fire, and then backed away out of the theater.”
The SWAT team responded and confronted the suspect, Aaron said.
“There was gunfire and the gunman is deceased just inside the movie theater,” he said. “So we believe the imminent threat has been ended.”
Eric Vale, 32, said he was an Uber driver who was dropping off passengers in the theater parking lot when shots rang out.
He described it as “utter chaos.”
“I just couldn’t believe this was happening again,” he said.
A police dispatcher said the shooting was reported at 1:13 p.m. at the theater at 901 Bell Road. The theater is Carmike Hickory 8, according to address records.
At about 1:50 p.m., police scanner traffic indicated it was still an active situation.
Minutes after 2 p.m., Metro Nashville police tweeted that the suspect was dead.
Extra police patrols have reportedly been assigned at Bellevue 8 movie theater. Dozens of police officers flooded the scene of the shooting and blocked traffic in the area.
Jeremy Cardoza, who works at Ford Ice Center nearby, said the business was on lockdown and no one was allowed in or to leave. He said there were about 25 people there at the time, mostly children.
“We’re waiting on instructions from police, we have not been contacted yet,” he said. “We had a parent come in and they kind of just told us that there were a bunch of cops posted outside.”
