On Sunday, authorities in Tennessee were looking for the estranged son of Nashville’s police chief, whom they believed to be responsible for the shooting of two cops in a nearby city.
LaVergne police chief Christopher Moews said that on Saturday afternoon, while investigating the presence of a stolen vehicle in a Dollar General parking lot, officers fought with the suspect, who then pulled out a handgun and shot both of them. LaVergne is located approximately 20 miles southeast of Nashville.
Metro Nashville Police Department Chief John Drake’s son, John C. Drake Jr., 38, was the suspect.
Both officers were shot; one in the rear left shoulder and the other in the crotch and right forearm. Both were sent to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville for treatment.
On Saturday night, the cop who had been hospitalized was released. Anne Smith, a city spokeswoman for La Vergne, said the other officer was stable after spending the night in the hospital for observation.
Their identities were not released.
The police chief confirmed in a statement released on Saturday that his son was the shooter. Drake claimed that he and his kid had not spoken in a long time and had grown distant.
He added that the younger Drake “resorted to years of criminal activities” and is now a convicted felon.
Drake hoped those who saw or knew anything about him would quickly notify authorities.
In recent years, Nashville’s national image has risen for all the wrong reasons.
The authorities told La Vergne citizens to “shelter in places after the shooting.
In a statement, Mayor Freddie O’Connell expressed his complete confidence in the police chief – “The Chief, his family, and the two injured La Vergne police officers have my deepest sympathies. We can’t be responsible for family members’ choices despite our best efforts, including in their early years.”
