A 40-year-old man is behind bars five months after South Nashville police say he chased down another man in a motel parking lot and opened fire, with surveillance footage capturing the entire armed confrontation. Ledell Lowe Jr. was booked into the Davidson County Sheriff's Office on September 6, five months after the April 2 shooting in the 90 block of Wallace Road left investigators combing the scene for a spent shell casing.
According to WKRN News 2, the confrontation began as an argument between Lowe and two people, according to a witness on the scene. Arrest records show the situation escalated before Lowe allegedly fired at a man who was forced to run and take cover near a motel dumpster to avoid being hit. An MNPD officer told investigators that Lowe was carrying a handgun and had trailed the victim before the shooting, and officers later recovered a .22 caliber spent casing at the scene.
Surveillance footage reviewed by investigators captured the armed parking lot chase and shooting near the South Nashville motel, according to the same report. Lowe is now facing one felony count of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, according to arrest records, and is being held on a $25,000 bond.
What the Felony Charge Could Mean for Lowe
Under Tennessee Code § 39-13-102, intentional or knowing aggravated assault involving a deadly weapon is classified as a Class C felony, carrying a statutory sentence of 3 to 15 years in prison and fines up to $15,000, according to FindLaw. Securing pretrial release on a $25,000 bond typically requires a payment of $2,525 through a licensed bondsman, since Tennessee law caps commercial bail bond premiums at 10% of the total bond amount plus a $25 fee, per Bail U Out Bonding. Like everyone arrested in Davidson County, Lowe was processed through the Sheriff's Office Downtown Detention Center on James Robertson Parkway for intake, fingerprinting, mugshots, and warrant screening, according to The Cassell Firm.
The five-month gap between the shooting and Lowe's booking has an apparent explanation buried in unrelated court records. Public legal notices published by the Juvenile Court of Shelby County in April and May noted that state authorities were searching for Ledell Lowe Jr. in a Department of Children's Services proceeding and that his whereabouts could not be ascertained by diligent search, according to the Memphis Daily News.
A Property With a Troubled 2026
The April shooting is not an isolated incident at the address. Wallace Studios at 97 Wallace Road was originally built in 1974 as an Americas Best Value motel before being converted in 2023 into a 131-unit affordable housing community for voucher-supported and low-income residents, according to REBusinessOnline. On May 14, Metro Nashville Police responded to a separate overnight shooting outside a unit at the same complex, sending a man wounded in the leg to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, as Hoodline previously reported.
Then on June 24, South Precinct officers arrested 29-year-old Kenneth S. Watt on attempted murder charges stemming from a May 25 shooting in the same parking lot at 97 Wallace Road, according to Metro Nashville Police. Officers reportedly spotted Watt during a routine patrol after a warrant had already been issued in that case. Just a few weeks later, on July 28, police investigated an overnight hit-and-run crash at nearby Largo Drive and Wallace Road that left a pedestrian in life-threatening condition, prompting an ongoing search for the driver.
Citywide Numbers Tell a Different Story
The repeated violence along this stretch of Wallace Road stands in contrast to broader citywide trends. Metro Nashville Police data released in April showed that overall crime across Nashville decreased by 20% and violent crime fell by 18% during the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period a year earlier, according to WBIR Channel 10. Mayor Freddie O'Connell's office had separately reported that total crime in South Nashville dropped 23% in 2025, crediting precision policing strategies from Metro police, per a statement shared on Facebook.
Even so, converted properties like Wallace Studios continue to generate repeat calls for service, underscoring how localized hotspots can persist even as citywide figures trend downward. Lowe's case remains pending as he awaits further proceedings on the felony aggravated assault charge.
