Key Takeaways
- A Bellevue man went outside around 1:35 a.m. Tuesday after his car alarm sounded at a Nashville apartment complex on Club Parkway.
- He found multiple people near his vehicle, and one of them fired multiple shots at him.
- The man returned fire as the group fled, and no injuries were reported at the scene.
- Detectives are investigating whether the suspects are linked to other vehicle break-ins in the area from the same period.
- No arrests or charging decisions have been announced, and police have not publicly identified the resident or any suspects.
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NASHVILLE, TN — A Bellevue man who walked outside to check on his car alarm early Tuesday says one of several people gathered near his vehicle opened fire on him, and he shot back as the group ran off.
Metro Nashville Police officers were called to the 500 block of Club Parkway around 1:35 a.m. on a report of gunfire, as reported by WSMV. The shooting happened in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
The man told officers he heard his vehicle’s alarm go off and went outside to investigate. He found multiple people near his vehicle. One of them fired multiple shots at him. He returned fire as they ran away.
No injuries were reported at the scene. Police do not know whether any of the suspects were struck.
The man later told WSMV he had to fire back. By Tuesday morning, auto glass repair vans were working the complex’s parking lot, according to the station. Detectives are now trying to determine whether the people involved in the shooting are connected to other vehicle break-ins in the area from the same time period.
Everything in this account turns on one fact. According to what he told police, someone shot at him first. That is what makes this a self-defense story, and the car has nothing to do with it. Deadly force is justified only against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm, and a vehicle break-in on its own does not meet that standard. Multiple rounds fired at a person does.
The detail investigators will look at closely is the timing of his shots. He told officers he returned fire as the group ran away. Whether the threat was still active when he pulled the trigger is exactly the question detectives and prosecutors weigh in a case like this.
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There is also a mindset lesson that comes before the first shot. A car alarm at that hour is a reason to call 911 from behind a locked door. Walking out to investigate means meeting an unknown number of people who may be armed. He found out they were. A car can be replaced.
Police have not publicly identified the resident or any suspects. No arrests have been announced, and no charging decision has been announced. What has been released so far is his account as he gave it to officers.
