A devastating shooting in Nashville has left a 4-year-old girl dead and several others in critical condition, following a domestic dispute that turned violent last Saturday night. As reported by WSMV, the incident unfolded when Jovien Smith, 26, and his 41-year-old girlfriend got into a heated argument while she was driving a minivan with her five children inside. According to police, Smith, of Davenport, Iowa, escalated the altercation by throwing his girlfriend's phone out the window and attempting to take control of the steering wheel to cause a crash.
The woman managed to stop the vehicle on Westchester Drive, but the confrontation took a deadly turn as Smith opened fire. WKRN provides a grim account of the attack, noting that after the initial shots were fired at the woman, Smith "allegedly pulled out a weapon and opened fire on the woman before turning the gun on the children." The mother and four of the five children were struck multiple times, and she fled from the vehicle to seek help from nearby houses, with Smith in pursuit.
Officers arrived swiftly to the scene, apprehending Smith who was still armed. The critically wounded were taken to Nashville hospitals, with tragic outcomes. As reported by WKRN, "a 1-year-old boy was shot three times in the stomach and a 7-year-old girl was shot once in the stomach and six times in the legs." Both children, along with a 13-year-old who was shot twice in the stomach, remain in critical condition. The 4-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries after being shot in the neck and back.
The aftermath of this calamity has led to Smith's arrest and a bond set at $2.6 million. He faces charges of criminal homicide, five counts of attempted criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault and one count of aggravated burglary, as per WKRN.
