NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Nashville police officers and first responders were called to a Saturday evening shooting near Tennessee State University (TSU) that killed one person and injured at least nine others.
According to the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD), there was an exchange of gunfire between two groups at approximately 5:10 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 12 near the intersection of Jefferson Street and 27th Avenue North. The crowd from TSU’s homecoming celebration had begun to thin out, but the parking lots were still full and Jefferson Street had reopened about 20 minutes before the shooting.
A TSU spokesperson sent the following statement to News 2 around 5:45 p.m.:
Nashville Metro Police are investigating a shooting at 27th and Jefferson near the House of Legends and Jefferson Street Baptist Missionary Baptist Church. Police say the suspect remains at large and everyone should use caution if traveling in the area.
Just after 6:30 p.m., authorities confirmed the scene had been secured.
“At this point, there are 10 victims that have been confirmed to have been involved in that gunfire, one of which is deceased. Five of them were transported from the Nashville Fire Department to local hospitals. Five others were dropped off by private vehicles, and at least some of those that were injured at area hospitals are also suspected to have been involved in the gunfire,” MNPD Public Information Officer Brooke Reese said during a briefing shortly before 7:15 p.m.
MNPD later posted on social media platform X that a 24-year-old man had died and three non-critical juvenile victims are at Vanderbilt Pediatrics. Authorities later described the juvenile victims as one 12-year-old and two 14-year-olds.
According to Kendra Loney with the Nashville Fire Department (NFD), crews were already staged throughout the area because they were participating in the TSU homecoming parade and engaging with the community amid the homecoming festivities.
When the gunfire broke out, Loney said some NFD personnel thought it was fireworks, but when they realized what was happening, they jumped into action, with some even using their belts as tourniquets because they didn’t have their medical bags with them.
“While we don’t wish any ill on anyone, we are upset, we are angry about that disruption, we are angry that there were persons whose days were disrupted, that the innocence in this event was taken away, and that lives were endangered,” Loney said.
Loney reported that one NFD employee was transported for an unrelated medical emergency, in addition to the five people injured in the shooting that NFD brought to the hospital.
“Of course, everybody knows homecoming celebration for Tennessee State University is a huge event,” MNPD Cmdr. Anthony McClain said. “I graduated from Tennessee State University, so my family and I was enjoying this occasion today. It’s unfortunate that a few folks pretty much ruined it for everybody, okay? So we have to come to the point where we stop this violence. Fortunately for us, we had quite a few officers working the area. I think they were able to mitigate the carnage, so to speak. We appreciate that effort. We appreciate the efforts of the fire department, as well.”
According to McClain, the shooting was not a direct reflection on TSU itself and is believed to be something that was “kind of a side bar to the celebration.” He said there have been some shootings up and down the Jefferson Street corridor, but it’s been pretty uneventful for the past couple years.
The commander added that most of the people celebrating TSU’s homecoming were down at Nissan Stadium for the football game against Eastern Illinois University, which kicked off at 5 p.m.
MNPD Public Information Officer Don Aaron shared additional details in an 8 p.m. press conference. He reiterated that 10 shooting victims were at area hospitals, but one of those victims — the 24-year-old — had died. Police are confident that at least one of the people at a local hospital was involved in the shooting and had a gun.
According to Aaron, one gun was found in the street at the scene, and authorities believe handguns were used in the shooting. Meanwhile, MNPD’s Homicide Unit, in conjunction with the Specialized Investigations Division’s TITANS team, has detectives at each hospital to interview the wounded individuals, some of whom are known to the department due to prior interaction with the police.
“This is a very difficult scenario for our city in that just a handful of people, a very small number of people besmirched the celebration of activities for North Nashville and Tennessee State University taking place today,” Aaron said, adding that Saturday morning’s parade had gone off without a hitch and a lot of people had already left for the football game before the shooting took place.
Aaron said officials would have never expected a shooting would have happened with all of the law enforcement and first responders present for the homecoming festivities along Jefferson Street.
When asked about a shots fired call that came in around 7:45 p.m. near Nissan Stadium, Aaron said a noise that sounded like a gunshot may have been heard outside the stadium, but there are no reports of anyone being hit or any indication that it’s related to the shooting near TSU. He assured the public that officers are stationed in and around the stadium to confirm exactly what happened.
Nashville officials are expected to hold a third press conference about the shooting at 9 p.m., which will be streamed live here on WKRN.com and on News 2’s Facebook page.