NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A cyclist out for an afternoon ride ended up in the emergency room after someone shot him in the face with a pellet gun.
The victim has a warning concerned that bike riders are being targeted with pellet or airsoft guns.
It happened on a stretch of Davidson Street into Shelby Park, which is typically a safe and popular stretch for cyclists. But what happened right here has many concerned.
"I saw a car coming this way and boom. Something hit me," said cyclist Rob Benshoot.
Something hit him right in the eye, and he wasn't the only one who was apparently shot by whoever was in a passing car.
"There were bicyclists behind me, and they stopped and said those people are shooting something."
The other bicyclists did not suffer serious injuries, but Benshoot spent 13 hours at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as doctors worked to make sure he didn't lose his eye
"It hurt and it got worse. I was bleeding internally in my eye."
Benshoot contacted Metro Nashville Police Department and posted to biking and crime watch pages on social media.
Others have reported also being shot.
Benshoot believes he was shot with a pellet or an airsoft gun.
Hendersonville police officer Jamie Owens investigated similar cases earlier this year when witnesses reported teens shooting people with splatter ball guns.
"They called it in and reported it thinking it was much more serious than it really was," said Owens.
It turned out to be a TikTok challenge with no serious injuries.
That could be the case with Benshoot.
But he almost lost his eye, and now thinks twice before going out for a ride.
"It upset me that it affects my biking and the entire bicycling walking community," said Benshoot.
He said he'll still ride his bicycle, but will do so for now on wearing goggles.
Metro police are asking anyone else who experienced something similar while on a bike to report it.
