WILSON COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — New details emerged to the story behind the escape of four juvenilesfrom a youth academy last week.
The teens were involved in a high-speed chase, which led to a violent crash.
There were so many questions after what happened this weekend: How did the teens escape Rosewood Youth Academy, and why wasn't it immediately reported to police? Further — what was a staffer thinking giving chase himself and allegedly firing a weapon?
"Somebody shot a gun by my house," said Ede McCullough who added that the gunshot was the most upsetting.
That's saying a lot considering what happened in her front yard.
A speeding car took out a fence and stopped just inches from the family's Mt. Juliet home.
Four teens had escaped the Rosewood Youth Academy in Donelson with a stolen car and crashed it. Afterward, the teens took off running.
A staffer who had given chase in his own car pulled up and yelled, “Don’t run … stop.” Then a gun was fired.
Wilson County Sheriff Robert Bryan vowed to get answers.
"Somebody shot a weapon. That's something we are going to get to the bottom of," he said.
Now we know.
The teens beat up a staffer at the academy, took some keys and stole the car.
Another staffer didn't immediately report the escape to police and got in his car to give chase.
He denied firing the gunshot.
But there's video. Deputies found a shell casing, and a gun in the staffer's glove box.
"It is absolutely terrifying," McCullough said. "You don't just go on someone's private property and shoot your gun."
McCullough is just glad no one was hurt.
Her home sits on a sharp curve.
The family will repair the fence and add a few more boulders as barriers to protect the yard. The academy has told the family it will cover the cost of repairing the fence.
So, what's the fallout?
That academy staffer has now been fired and prosecutors have indicated they will seek reckless endangerment charges against him.
All four teens have been captured and will face charges in Nashville.
