Two Nashville officers fired their guns Tuesday morning during the tense standoff with the man who shot and wounded three employees at a SmileDirectClub facility in Antioch.
The police department says it’s investigating the two shots fired by Officer Cherelle Kinchloe because of her positioning. She was behind other officers at the time. Kinchloe graduated from the police academy in March.
Officer Dylan Ramos also fired multiple rounds. He is an August 2020 academy graduate.
The gunfire killed 22-year-old Antonio King, who was an employee at the facility. Security footage shows King firing at least 20 shots into the building and 911 calls indicate employees hid behind vehicles as he roamed outside.
Officers confronted King on a sidewalk and yelled for him to drop his gun before they fired. Multiple officers then handcuffed King and began rendering aid.
Police on Tuesday published an edited briefing that includes 911 call audio, security video, and footage from the cameras worn by officers Kinchloe and Ramos.
Reported earlier
A man opened fire on coworkers at a SmileDirectClub manufacturing facility in Antioch on Tuesday, injuring three people before Metro Nashville police officers shot and killed him.
The suspect, identified by investigators as 22-year-old Antonio D. King, arrived to work before 6 a.m. during a shift change at the facility.
“He seemingly was reporting for work,” Metro Police spokesperson Don Aaron said at a press conference. “But with him as he reported for work was this Glock semiautomatic pistol with an extended magazine. And for some reason, he opened fire.”
The alleged gunman fired shots inside and outside the business. Two police officers found him outside near Antioch Pike with a gun. After he refused to drop the gun, police shot him, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, which is investigating the death because it involved police.
A Metro Police SWAT team arrived to clear the rest of the sprawling manufacturing facility, though they don’t believe anyone else was involved in the shooting.
UPDATE: The active shooter is a 22-year-old employee who started working at Smile Direct Club in June. He also worked there from late 2019 to early 2020. He was shot by the MNPD at the intersection of Antioch Pk & Franklin Limestone Rd and has died at Vanderbilt…
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) August 3, 2021
SmileDirectClub said in a statement that on-site security initially intervened in the incident. The suspect shot a facility manager, Thomas Abbott, and two security guards, Johnny Hardin and Carlton Watson. Hardin, 46, remained in critical condition at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Tuesday afternoon. Watson, 66, was in stable condition, and Abbott, 54, was released, according to police.
Courtesy HP According to a company release, the Antioch facility produces teeth aligners with 3D printers, pictured inside the facility here.
The suspect began working at SmileDirectClub in June, but he was previously employed from late 2019 to early 2020, according to police, who said they are investigating where he lived and whether he had any issues with his employer.
SmileDirectClub has a no-weapons policy at all facilities. The company said in its statement that it’s saddened by the incident and that employee safety is a top priority.
The facility — known as a “Smile House” — opened in 2018 and employs 700 people who, according to the Nashville Business Journal, work 12-hour shifts, keeping the production of teeth aligners running 24 hours a day.
Sen. Brenda Gilmore, D-Nashville, who represents the Antioch area, responded with a statement Tuesday afternoon.
“Nashville has suffered another act of senseless gun violence and now more Tennessee families have received the horrifying phone call that their mother or father or brother or sister has been shot,” Gilmore said in a press release. “I pray the victims and their families heal and find peace. And I am more resolved than ever to help end this epidemic of gun violence.”
Alexis Marshall contributed to this report.
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