A tragic shootout occurred late Friday night following a carjacking in downtown Nashville, ending with the death of a 26-year-old man at the hands of a Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officer, as reported by WSMV News. The deceased, identified as Adam Rodriguez, allegedly commandeered a Honda minivan from an Uber driver, initiating a sequence of events that led to his death just before midnight near the intersection of 10th Avenue North and Garfield Street.
Initially involved in a minor collision with the Uber driver's minivan in a white Kia Soul with his girlfriend, Rodriguez reportedly discharged a firearm from within the Kia, striking the windshield before commandeering the rideshare vehicle at gunpoint, this information gleaned from an official statement shared by the WKRN News. Less than thirty minutes later law enforcement caught up with the stolen minivan, utilizing a spike strip, and flattening its tires, and then a chase ensued that brought them to 10th Avenue North where MNPD Officer Pierce Moore and Rodriguez faced off resulting in the fatal shooting.
Footage from Moore's body camera captured the tense moments leading up to the shooting, with Moore repeatedly instructing Rodriguez to "drop the gun," according to MNPD. Despite these commands, Rodriguez raised his weapon before Moore discharged his, fatally wounding the suspect. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and the MNPD are conducting ongoing investigations into the shooting, as described by MNPD spokesperson Don Aaron, "The TBI and the police department conduct thorough use of force investigations," Aaron noted in a report by WSMV News, emphasizing, "This investigation is at the early stages and will take time to complete."
Following the incident, aid was rendered to Rodriguez before being transported to Vanderbilt Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, in the aftermath, Officer Moore was placed on a customary administrative assignment while the shooting was scrutinized more as part of the standard procedure as explained by Metro Nashville Police Department. Additional details surrounding the incident, including the bullet fired from inside the Kia Soul and the specific chain of events that unfolded after the carjacking, remain under investigation by MNPD, and the state authorities have yet to release more concrete information, according to a WKRN report.
