A fatal police shooting occurred in the Wolfchase area as Bartlett Police officers responded to a shoplifting incident, resulting in the death of a suspect allegedly armed with a knife on Thursday evening, according to local news sources. WREG reports that the altercation took place near Kate Hyde Boulevard and Highway 64 at around 5:45 p.m.; authorities have stated that an officer was threatened with a knife before the suspect was shot and later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Further details provided by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation explain that a second suspect, initially observed leaving the store, brandished a knife when officers attempted to intervene the TBI stated, "For reasons still under investigation, the situation escalated, resulting in two officers firing their weapons, striking the subject who was then near an adjacent business," this account was detailed by FOX13 Memphis. The suspect’s identity has not been disclosed pending notification of next of kin and the circumstances that led to the shooting are actively under review by the TBI.
The police presence included the Bartlett Police Department’s Mobile Command Center arriving just before 7 p.m., with TBI units reaching the scene shortly thereafter; details of which are noted in a piece from Action News 5. The investigation is ongoing, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's involvement suggests a standard procedure in incidents involving the use of lethal force by law enforcement officers in Tennessee.
