The suspect who died in an officer involved shooting at a Nashville apartment complex has been identified as 31-year-old Sershawn Martez Dillon.
The incident was initially reported around 10:30 p.m. Friday, as a shots fired call at the Overlook Ridge Apartments.
.@MNPDNashville is on the scene of an officer involved shooting at Overlook Ridge Apartments. The @TBInvestigation is handling the case. 3 Metro officers were involved. 2 shot at gunman, 1 hurt. Gunman killed. pic.twitter.com/a2YVG99y6l
— Hannah McDonald (@Hannah_NC5) October 6, 2018
Officers Samuel Galluzzi and John Petriello, along with Detective Zachary Ronan, responded to the scene. A man matching the description of the suspect ran into one of the apartments that wasn't his. Officers spotted him and approached the door.
At some point, the situation escalated and police said the suspect and responding officers were involved in a gun battle. Police said they returned fire at Dillon after he started shooting at them in the apartment.
“We don’t have reason to believe he lived there or knew anyone inside that apartment, so certainly this was a scary situation for people inside of that unit and that’s why you had police officers so interested in checking welfare of individuals inside this apartment,” said Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokesperson Josh DeVine.
The North Precinct patrol officer wounded Friday night during a police confrontation with a gunman at 2400 Buena Vista Pike is Samuel Galluzzi, 24, a 2-year MNPD veteran. He suffered gunhots to his thigh and ankle. Surgery will be required later today. He is in stable condition. pic.twitter.com/dzCq3dDAgM
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) October 6, 2018
Dillon received fatal injuries.
Officer Galluzzi was hit by bullets in the ankle and thigh.
The TBI remained on the scene at 2400 Buena Vista Pike throughout the morning. From there, they will hand over the findings to the District Attorney’s Office, who will determine if the shooting was justified.
A resident of the apartment complex caught audio of the shooting on video. Monique Archibald was outside on Facebook Live when the shooting started.
"One of my cousins that came in when it first started and told me that he had seen the guy running from police," said Archibald. "So, we got the kids inside the house. That was my main concern was the kids."
Archibald said everyone started running. Janayah Hunter was inside an apartment and witnessed the shooting through a window.
"All I saw was a bunch of cops rushing to the door. Before I knew it, they were shooting, he were shooting and he just fell down. That's all I saw," she said.
The TBI said Dillon is believed to be responsible for a stranger sexual assault that occurred in the same neighborhood just prior to his encounter with law enforcement. Police said he was also involved in a pistol-whipping incident in the apartment complex earlier on Friday.
