NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Is this a case of a "good guy" with a gun defending himself?
A food delivery driver ended up in a shootout with a carjacking suspect. The driver was injured - the suspect killed.
Under the law, this is a homicide and the police and District Attorney will decide if it was a crime.
At this point, this appears to be a clear instance of someone acting in self-defense and this was a justified use of deadly force.
But, the case does remain under investigation.
"This is an extremely rare situation. This is very unusual for this to happen," said Don Aaron with Metro police.
It was Saturday around noon on 8th Avenue south in Berry Hill.
A 44-year-old food delivery driver was walking back to his parked Dodge Charger.
That's when a man walked up, pulled a gun and demanded the car.
The delivery driver moved to pull a gun from under his seat when the carjacker shot him in the leg.
The driver then returned fire.
"It appears that this person wanting to commit the crime is the person who lost their life today," said Aaron.
John Harris is executive director of the Tennessee Firearms Association. He concedes this appears to be the case of a good guy with a gun taking down the bad guy.
But all such cases are reviewed.
"A self defense incident is still a crime," said Aaron. "This is a fatality so it's a homicide."
You heard right. Under the law killing someone is a crime.
The question is: Was it justified?
Harris says the police will review security video, talk to witnesses and the delivery driver and gather evidence.
They will check things like:
Was the victim in mortal danger?
Was the deceased shot in the back?
Did the victim legally own the gun?
"Let's say the person has a criminal conviction and a case where they use the weapon. They could be charged with illegal possession," said Harris.
No charges have been filed in this case and Harris doubts there will be.
It appears the delivery driver -- who was shot himself -- did exactly what he had to do under those horrible circumstances.
Once the police investigation is complete, they'll turn the report over to the district attorney who will make the a decision on whether to prosecuted and again that seems highly unlikely.
The delivery driver was treated for a serious, but not life threatening gun shot to his leg.
The suspect has still not been identified.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at nick.beres@newschannel5.com
It's has been a dry spring for us. Nashville is over 6 inches below normal for rainfall for the year with Clarksville over a 9 inches deficit. Kim Rafferty went to a nursery to get a couple of tips that may be useful for you.
- Lelan Statom
