MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Christmas Eve began for many in Boxcroft Circle in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee with a shelter-in-place while police worked to deal with four suspects in a stolen car.
Four juveniles are now in custody after Mt. Juliet police worked for about one and half hours to get them to comply. Once they were detained, the area reopened to traffic.
Police also had to evacuate some neighbors including Judith McCormack. They were brought to a nearby hotel and waited before they received the all-clear.
"There was a police car behind that car and there was a strip in front of that car so if they move forward their tires would be shredded," McCormack told NewsChannel 5. "Pretty soon a police officer came banging on my back door and told me to get heavy shoes on, heavy gloves, and a heavy coat."
A neighbor called police around 6 a.m. to report a suspicious vehicle in the neighborhood.
The car was stolen from Nashville. Mt. Juliet police surrounded the car in Boxcroft Circle with guns drawn. Police say the suspects in the car were armed with a handgun and a suppressed AR15-style semi-automatic rifle. The firearms were also stolen out of Nashville.
All four suspects are teenage males ages 15,16, 17, and 17. They have been transported to an undiclosed juvenile detention facility. Names of the suspects are not being released because of their age.
This is an ongoing investigation.