Two Tennessee Police Officers Shot, Suspect Dead in Standoff

Nov. 10, 2017
The wounded Kingsport officers were conscious and alert when they were taken to the hospital.

KINGSPORT, Tenn. -- A SWAT team found a man dead inside a home after a shootout between him and Kingsport police sent two officers to a hospital on Thursday afternoon.

One officer was treated and released; the other was in surgery Thursday night. Their injuries didn't appear to be life-threatening, police said.

About 2 p.m., Kingsport police learned a man who lived in the Ridgefields neighborhood had "made threats to harm and/or kill both himself and one of his neighbors," according to a police news release.

Officers discovered the man had an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to appear on a previous aggravated stalking charge involving a different neighbor, the release states. Police also learned the man reportedly had a gun.

Officers arrived at the man's condominium in the 1900 block of Manor Court to find he had barricaded himself inside.

Police sent a message to residents alerting them of the situation, called in the SWAT team, and began setting up a perimeter.

The man ignored officers' attempts to communicate with him, according to a news release from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

At 4:45 p.m. -- "Before an organized plan was in place," police spokesman Tom Patton said -- the man came outside with a gun and fired shots at officers, hitting two of them, according to the TBI. The officers returned fire, and the man retreated back inside.

The two officers who were shot were conscious and alert when they were taken to the hospital.

Officers evacuated nearby condos, and, about 6 p.m., the SWAT team entered the home to find the man dead, police said.

An autopsy is being performed to determine his cause of death. His identity has not yet been released.

The scene is safe but remains an active crime scene, police said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the officer-involved shooting, per protocol. The Kingsport Police Department's Criminal Investigations Division is also conducting an investigation.

___ (c)2017 the Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.) Visit the Knoxville News-Sentinel (Knoxville, Tenn.) at www.knoxnews.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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