At the start of the workweek, a 50-year-old woman, found herself in the crosshairs of a harrowing ordeal outside of the Justice A. A. Birch Building in downtown Nashville. What began as a routine Monday morning quickly devolved into a scene of violence as a road rage incident led to gunfire. The Justice A. A. Birch Building, a hub that houses the Davidson County criminal and civil courtrooms, was surrounded by honking cars and rising tempers before the shot was fired, as reported by WKRN.
Metro Nashville Police responded to the scene around 8:40 a.m., following reports of a dispute and subsequent shooting. A spokesperson for the court shared that the victim was grazed by a bullet during an argument in the roundabout area. She was seen getting out of a white vehicle and was hit in the shoulder, and then sought assistance within the courthouse. According to WSMV, the injured woman was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, her injuries not life-threatening.
Witnesses provided varied accounts of the event; some suggesting the bullet may have been fired aimlessly into the air, before striking the victim, as MNPD spokesperson Don Aaron disclosed in a statement obtained by The Tennessean. The area directly outside the courthouse was quickly cordoned off by police, who embarked on a meticulous investigation.
Investigators are currently sifting through surveillance footage, notably from cameras located underneath the bridge that links the Davidson County Downtown Detention Center with the courthouse. No suspect description was released immediately following the incident, however, the assailant is believed to have fled in a grey Dodge Durango SUV. “Someone decided it to go to the extreme, get out and fire a gun," Aaron told The Tennessean, encapsulating the senselessness that transformed a traffic snarl into a scene of violence and fear.
