The man with the tourist who was shot and killed in downtown Nashville talked with NewsChannel 5 about their final days together.
Teddy Grasset and his friend Larry were visiting from Los Angeles when they became victims of a deadly attempted robbery late Sunday night.
Teddy was shot outside the Country Music Hall of Fame and died, but Larry was able to run away.
"Looking behind me my friend wasn't there, that was it, and then I saw all the cops," Larry said. "I was running to the lights, and I saw them. I saw my friend on the ground, and everyone was doing their jobs trying to put him back to life."
Larry talked with NewsChannel 5 by Skype Thursday, just a few days after the murder. He's since traveled back home to Los Angeles. With the suspects still on the run, he asked that we not show his face.
"That was a nightmare, and the nightmare is too long because those people are still running in the streets and we want justice to be done," he said.
Larry and Teddy had been friends for almost a decade. They're both from France but met in Los Angeles and shared similar passions. Larry said his friend was a big-hearted music lover. Teddy had flown into Nashville Saturday to support one of Larry's photography exhibits on display.
Larry visited Nashville often, but this was Teddy's first trip to Music City.
"He was happy, we had a great weekend. He told me when we left the bar before everything happened, ‘Hey Larry, let's move to Nashville,’” he said.
The two men were out on Broadway Sunday night and left before midnight because Teddy had an early flight home the next day. They walked a couple blocks down 4th Avenue South to catch an Uber back to their hotel, and that's when things changed forever for the two friends.
Surveillance cameras captured at least three people pull up beside them as they were walking outside the Country Music Hall of Fame. Two men got out of a newer-model silver Chevrolet Impala and tried to rob the tourists. Teddy was shot dead moments later.
"Why us? We didn't do anything wrong. We’re like two kids walking in the street and why?" Larry asked. "Nobody deserves to be killed for nothing, you know."
Detectives said they believe the two men were not specifically targeted and that it appeared to be a random crime.
"This is Nashville. This city should not and will not put up with something like this," said Don Aaron, Spokesperson at the Metro Nashville Police Department. "There's some in this community who have to know who these individuals are."
Metro Nashville Police have been asking for the public's help in identifying the suspects caught on surveillance committing the crime. Aaron said they were driving a silver Chevrolet Impala with a sunroof and spoiler.
Anyone with information has been asked to call Crime Stoppers at 615-74-CRIME (615-742-7463).
