NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A Metro police officer was shot in the shoulder while walking his dog near Ashland City and the suspected gunman was then shot and killed by Metro officers along Interstate 440 following a pursuit Thursday night.
According to Metro police, 57-year-old Officer Darrell Osment, a 13-year veteran, was off-duty in plain clothes when he was shot around 9:05 p.m. in the 5000 block of Pine Valley Road near Bull Run Road.
Officer Osment told investigators he encountered a man he did not know while walking his dog and they exchanged greetings.
As they passed one another, Officer Osment said the man suddenly and inexplicably shot him in the back of his shoulder, according to a press release. Officer Osment fell to the ground and the gunman fired a second shot, which hit the ground near the officer.
Metro police reported the wounded officer was able to get up and run while the gunman got into a Ford Flex parked at a nearby church and drove away.
Officer Osment, who is currently assigned to Metro police’s property and evidence facility, was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
Another officer then spotted the Ford Flex on Hyde’s Ferry Road in Bordeaux at 9:17 p.m. The Metro police helicopter flew into the area and began monitoring the Ford from above.
The Ford traveled onto Clarksville Pike and turned on Ed Temple Boulevard, which is close to Metro police’s North precinct station. Officers reported gun shots were fired from the Ford near the intersection, according to a press release.
Metro police reported an officer then attempted to deploy spike strips to stop the Ford near the intersection of Ed Temple and Dr. D.B. Todd Boulevards. That officer reported the gunman again fired shots from the vehicle. The gunman then got onto I-40 and I-440.
A spike strip was deployed by officers on I-440, causing the vehicle to stop in the eastbound lanes near the Nolensville Pike exit, according to Metro police.
Officers reported the driver’s door then opened and they heard gunfire. Metro police reported three Metro officers fired on the suspect, fatally wounding him. The suspect’s nine millimeter semi-automatic pistol was found next to the vehicle.