A security guard at Nashville’s downtown Greyhound bus station says he was confronted by a man wielding a chainsaw and a metal pole early Monday morning, in an incident that ended with the man charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Police identified the man as 51-year-old Claude Bell and set his bond at $3,500.
The incident happened at the Greyhound bus station on Rep. John Lewis Way around 5:30 a.m. Monday, according to WKRN News 2. Officers arrived and found Bell sitting on the sidewalk with the chainsaw and metal pole still in hand, the station reported.
Guard Says Bell Had Been Trespassing All Night
The guard told officers Bell had been trespassing at the station throughout the night and had already been told to leave once. Metro police reported Bell left the property and then came back carrying the chainsaw and metal pole, per the same account.
Witnesses told officers they saw Bell brandish the chainsaw at the guard and threaten to “cut him up.” Bell now faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and his bond was set at $3,500, the station’s report notes.
Second Violent Episode at the Same Station in Weeks
Monday’s confrontation marks the second violent episode tied to security at the downtown Greyhound station in recent weeks. In late October, a security guard identified as Douglas West shot 22-year-old Jacorey McIntosh during a separate altercation outside the station, and police were continuing to investigate whether the guard acted in self-defense, according to WSMV.
In that earlier case, West told detectives McIntosh threw hot coffee in his face and started striking him outside the station on Rep. John Lewis Way South, as reported by Fox 17. McIntosh was arrested on Oct. 25 on an aggravated assault charge following that confrontation, per Fox 17’s report. Police said no weapon was found on McIntosh at the time, according to WSMV’s reporting.
