A total of four teens were injured in a shooting at the downtown Nashville MTA Music City Central bus station.
Officials said the shooting happened around 3:30 Monday afternoon, on the top floor near the escalator inside the MTA station.
Javious Chatman, 18, was critically injured when he was shot in the abdomen. The three other victims, Nathaniel Webb and Jonathan Stoner, both 16, and Jalen Jeffries, 17, suffered non-life threatening injuries. Police said they suffered graze wounds.
All of the victims were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The incident happened during a very busy time of day at the bus station. About 4,000 students pass through the station on a daily basis. Several schools partner with MTA, allowing students to use their school ID card for a free bus ride home.
Witnesses said the scene became very chaotic after the shots rang out.
"I just got off the bus and they started shooting," said Marsha Johnson, a witness. "It's by the grace of God I didn't get hit."
@RustyG @NC5 yup pic.twitter.com/1p9toYQ9JL
— Clyde Martin (@ClydeAMartin) April 25, 2016
The crowd scattered after numerous shots were fired. A window washer, working on a building across from the John Sevier state office building, saw two people run from the bus station, and ultimately toss a gun into shrubs at the John Sevier building.
About that time, officers responded to the scene, and the window washer yelled from his perch, "Stop them. Stop them."
The two 17-year-olds were named as persons-of-interest and taken into custody. As of Tuesday, those teens have been released.
Officers also recovered the gun in question. It was unclear what led up to the incident, but police did not believe it was random.
"As we have watched the surveillance video, this doesn’t appear to be a random shooting," said Don Aaron, Spokesperson for the Metro Police Department. "We see the same individual riding the escalator up and down like they were looking for someone."
Police taped off a portion of Charlotte Ave. including a MTA bus that was being unloaded at the time of the incident.
The Metro Transportation Authority warned locals of delays because of the shooting.
MTA staff is onsite to assist riders in finding their buses. Music City Central will be fully open and operational tomorrow morning (2/2)
— Nashville MTA (@Nashville_MTA) April 26, 2016
Mayor Megan Barry responded to the shooting by saying she would continue to implement recommendations from the Youth Violence Summit Report to create a safer city. She released the following statement below:
“The shooting today at Music City Central is a tragic reminder of the plague of gun violence in our society, where one person with a gun can devastate lives and bring a city to a halt in a moment’s notice. My heart sank when I heard that youth were the victims in this shooting, and my hope and prayer for those victims and their families is that they have a full and speedy recovery.
“Metro Police will be assigning additional officers to the terminal in the coming days, and as a clearer picture of the shooting today comes into view, I will be meeting with Police and MTA officials to see what we can do better to improve security at Music City Central and prevent incidents like this in the future.
“As Mayor, as a Nashvillian, and as a mother, I will never accept a status quo where our children fear being victims of violence when getting on a bus, going to school, or walking in their neighborhoods. I remain committed to working with our entire community to implement recommendations from the Youth Violence Summit Report and create better outcomes for all of our children.”
Thousands of students are in town for DECA Inc. at Bridgestone Arena. The organization has responded to the shooting incident, saying they have worked with police to make sure their attendees are safe.
DECA Inc. is aware of the shooting in the Nashville-area. All our #DECAICDC attendees are safe. More info below. pic.twitter.com/RJpwDoBv2k
— DECA Inc. (@DECAInc) April 25, 2016
Two Metro Police officers, and two former officers working in a security capacity, were at the Music City Central station at the time of the shooting. Aaron said police would continue to have an increased presence at the bus station in the coming days.
Police plan to review surveillance video to help identify the shooter. Anyone with information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at (615) 742-7463.
