***NASHVILLE MALL SHOOTING*** OFFICIAL NARRATIVE EXPLAINED TO THE PRESS BY METRO POLICE

Video Transcript:

the police department responded to a report of an active shooter inside Opera Mills Mall. The investigation shows that there was not an active shooter, but rather an altercation between two to three individuals in a hallway of the mall. This is what we know thus far. There were two to three persons, apparently known to each other, who got into a physical altercation outside the Lyd's Antianne's pretzel store in the corridor of the mall across the hallway from the old Navy store. During this altercation, which involves some pushing and shoving, a gun was pulled, and at least two shots were fired inside the mall. The shooting victim was very critically injured and was actually taken out of the mall by responding police officers to an awaiting ambulance. That person was taken to Skyline Medical Center where he is now deceased. After the shooting, the person responsible fled the mall building and went to a ticket booth on the other side of the mall across the street. As my understanding, they sell opera tickets there. He entered that ticket booth facility, put the gun on the counter, said he wanted no further trouble and to call 911. Inside the ticket booth at the time was a retired California police officer. That police officer took possession of the gun, directed the gunman to go outside and to lie prone on the ground, on the grass, until Metro police officers responded. When police officers responded, there was a large presence in the mall and there has been a meticulous clearing of the mall over the past hour to hour and a half. At this juncture, we believe that the two primary persons involved, the shooting victim and the shooter, are the only two individuals that have significant roles in this. However, it appears that at least one of them had persons with him. A number of interviews have to be conducted. There is an estimate that there were 20 to 25 witnesses who perhaps saw some part of this. If not the shooting, maybe they saw the person on the floor in the mall, maybe persons tried to render immediate aid to the victim, so there are a number of persons who have to be interviewed. The two individuals that I'm speaking of, the shooter and the victim are both 22 years old from Nashville. Both are known to the police department. After the shooting occurred, it's my understanding that a number of persons, a number of patrons in the mall either fled two stores into stores or were already in stores and were told by staff members to gather up into places of safety inside stores. Those are the persons that perhaps you've seen leaving the mall in the past 30 minutes. They are being assured that all is clear, all is good, that there was not an active shooter in the mall if you will, but there was an altercation between two to three persons in the mall that resulted in gunfire and after that immediate incident between the two, the gunman actually fled and surrendered at a ticket booth across the street. Those are the details that we have at present. Obviously there's a lot of work being conducted. The mall is cleared, our SWAT team has cleared the mall with the assistance of a number of other police officers. I think the Tennessee Highway Patrol was having some type of an exercise on nearby property, so there was a response here by state troopers, as well as a host of law enforcement, Metro police officers from the number of different pre-sex. Where's the suspect now and are you identifying him? I'm not identifying him yet. He is in police custody and has been taken in for an interview. When he got to the ticket booth, he was very cooperative in that he immediately placed his gun on the ticket booth counter, left it there, told him to call 911, essentially acknowledging that he was responsible for the shooting. The California retired officer actually took possession of the gun at that moment and ordered him to lie prone, lay prone on the grass there until Metro police officers responded and we were here very quickly. Do you know what they were writing about? I do not. Again, there are a number of persons who have to be interviewed, probably at more than one precinct facility due to the number. We know of two. We have shell casings inside, reflecting two shots, so two from what we know at this moment that I'm speaking to you now. I can't hear you. I have heard that there was a neck wound. I have heard that there was a neck wound, yes. It's a pistol. Oh, it's a shotgun. I don't know that. I don't know that. I can't. It's my understanding that both have histories with the police department. We'll delve into that a bit more at the proper time. For now, we're trying to get you as many of the facts here at the scene that we know. I do not. I do not. I think it's around the ball. Well, there is an indication that this perhaps has been festering and this was not an immediate spur of the moment thing, but that's something again. Our detectives are going to have to sort out. And I can't, I know I'm being repetitious, but I can't emphasize enough there are a number of persons, not the least of which is the shooter who need to be interviewed, as we try to figure out more details to why they were here and what the beef was about. We know there was a huge amount of officers that responded with rifles and tactical gear. With Waffle House fresh on your all spine, did that play a role in the response from the start of getting calls about an active shooter in a public place like this? Well, certainly we're all human beings and there has to be the thought of Waffle House just some days ago, but the initial call was an active shooter in a large facility, Nashville's largest shopping mall. So all of our police officers have been through this type training. They know what to do. So they weren't necessarily thinking about Waffle House. Our officers will tell you their training kicks in and they do as they are trained. I don't know that. There were obviously it's a typical weekday afternoon. There would have been a lot of people in their shopping in various parts of the facility. He tells me he is retired from California and now lives in Tennessee, not in Nashville, but was just in Nashville, I think on a leisure trip. Yeah, there's a ticket booth on the other side of the mall across the street. It's been suggested to me it's an operating ticket booth. It's a ticket booth for something here. I think it's operating, but I'm not sure. That's correct. He was inside inquiring about a transaction, with his daughter. I didn't say that definitively. I said there's an appearance that this was not happenstance that there was something going on. There is a presumption that they are known to each other, but all of that detail will be sorted out. This idea of how long, because you said witness has saw them fighting. How quickly did all of this happen between when they started the altercation in the shots? Well, I think it happened fairly quickly. There was to my understanding words, then maybe some pushing and then gunfire. So it didn't go on for a prolonged period of time at all. Okay, that's all I've got for you now. As we learn more, we'll fill you in more. There's interviews taking place at precinct facilities, and we'll provide further detail as we know it. But to sum up, the mall itself, safe, a very small number of persons involved, two primary, the shooter, the victim, the shooters in custody. We have the gun, and there's a lot of interviewing taking place now to fill in some detail. Thank you.