BEAN STATION, Tenn. -- A former Bean Station police officer shot and killed the town pharmacy owner, killed a customer and shot and wounded a pharmacy tech and another female employee, according to District Attorney Jimmy Dunn today.
Jason B. Holt, 37, was taken into custody shortly after the 11:15 a.m. shooting and robbery at the Down Home Pharmacy on Main Street in Bean Station.
According to Dunn, Holt took "a large quantity of pills" during the robbery.
The pharmacy owner and the customer died at the scene. The two employees were flown by helicopter to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where they were in stable condition, according to Dunn.
Holt was apprehended by Bean Station, Rutledge and Grainger County Sheriff's Office authorities after the killings, Dunn said.
Townspeople quietly began mentioning Jason Holt's name this afternoon after the killings.
After the shooting, a Bean Station firetruck blocked the road in front of the business at 1034 Main St., and another fire truck blocked the road about a half-mile further down Main just before the Bean Station town hall.
Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents were summoned to the scene about noon to assist, according to spokeswoman Kristin Helm. Additional TBI personnel were responding to assist in recovering evidence from the scene.
Bean Station residents stood beside yellow crime scene tape in the parking lot shared by Holt's IGA grocery store and the pharmacy.
Andy Holt, manager of the IGA, said incidents such as Thursday's never happen in Bean Station, whose population is less than 3,000.
"It's a big tragedy for this area. It's a close-knit community and you hate to have something like that happen, especially next door," he said. "It takes the breath out of you."
Holt said he knew three of the people who were shot.
"The fourth person who got shot, his wife was over here shopping."
Said Joyce Williams: "Bean Station is a very small town. There's been robberies here, but never shoot outs."
Another resident, who didn't want to be identified, said emergency responders were arriving as he pulled into the parking and police had already taken someone into custody.
"Ambulances were pulling in everywhere and they had a guy down at the fireball," he said.
Authorities put up sheets to cover the windows of the Main Street pharmacy where the shooting took place.
Copyright 2013 - The Knoxville News-Sentinel, Tenn.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
