ERIN, Tenn. (WTVF) — BJ Brown, the man accused of shooting an Erin police officer on Monday night, is now in custody after more than 30 hours.
Erin Police say Brown was found on Clay Tomlinson Road on someone else's property and is currently under watch at the Houston County Jail.
"I said yesterday and today that we was going to work this thing through no matter how long it took we kept our word," said Erin Chief of Police Mark Moore. "Thanks all the agencies that helped, couldn't have done it without the support of our community."
Law enforcement in Houston County shared details on the arrest of BJ Brown. You can watch the full press conference below.
"Words can not express the gratitude we feel this morning for all of the support from surrounding agencies, our community and especially our own City of Erin Department! We are thankful to each and every one! No other details will be released at this time," officials with the City of Erin posted on Facebook early Wednesday morning.
Brown was wanted for attempted first-degree murder of Officer Darrell Tiebor. NewsChannel 5 has learned Brown is also linked to a murder of a woman in New Orleans.
A driver called 911 after he said he identified the suspect walking on Clay Tomlinson Road Wednesday morning.
The man wanted to remain anonymous during his interview. He said he made eye contact with Brown who made a look he'll never forget.
"He had his hands in his hoodie with his face down," said the driver. "I already knew there was somebody on the loose, as I was stopping to see if this person needed a ride, he looked up at me and gave me a look that I have never seen someone give me. It sent chills all the way down my spine. So, I knew something wasn't right and that's when I noticed it was the man I'd seen all over Facebook."
Police were checking the property of the residence when they noticed a door on an outbuilding was partially open.
Officers were able to secure the area and made entry where they discovered Brown inside the outbuilding.
He was then taken into police custody and transported to the Houston County Sheriffs Office.
This came after about 30 hours of search.
A Blue Alert for Brown was issued on Tuesday evening by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
According to Houston County Sheriff's Office, Tiebor initiated a traffic stop in the area of Highway 149 and Substation Loop at around 9 p.m.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said Brown pulled over in a parking area near the 300 block of Highway 149 and got out of his vehicle, described as a burgundy sedan. The officer then instructed him to return to his vehicle, but Brown instead fired into the squad car, injuring the officer.
Officials said the officer returned fire, and Brown ran into a wooded area, still carrying a firearm.
“We’re not sure if he’s barefoot at this point; I know that he was. Contact was made at some point throughout this morning and some of his belongings were located in a shed, including some shoes that he had previously had on,” said Chief Moore.
Tiebor was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Officials say the officer sustained non-life-threatening injuries, is in stable condition, and is in good spirits.
Watch the second update on the Erin shooting, after the situation was elevated to a Blue Alert, given around 5:45 p.m. in the video player below:
Erin Police said Tuesday that they were focusing on the Highway 13 area because they were led to a tip of the suspect being in that area.
“The guys on the ground and girls on the ground, they’re getting burnt out. It’s been hot, and when you get in the woods it’s even worse, and some of our tac guys have really took a beat today — and our dogs as well — but we’re not gonna stop. We’re gonna continue on this search and we’re gonna succeed and we’re gonna find him. We’re going to do the job and do it well,” Sugg said.
Outside agencies including U.S. Marshals, the FBI and TBI were working with the officials of Houston County to help locate the suspect.
"We utilized outside agencies along with our agencies to go house to house to make sure that everybody’s okay, and the residents of Houston County’s been very cooperative in doing that," said Houston County Sheriff Kevin Sugg. "Our role is to get the people where they need to be because we’re more familiar with the county and the areas, and I want everybody to know that we’re mighty blessed to have these agencies all come together and help us in this time of crisis."
"Make no mistake this was an ambush on an officer, and rest assured we will not rest until he's captured and justice is served whether by jury or Jesus, and that's his choice," Moore said.
Officials with the Erin Police Department gave a first update on the shooting around 10:45 a.m., which can be watched below.
The town of Erin did not impose a curfew, but officials are ensuring they stay well-informed and safe. Erin has a population of 1,224 according to the 2020 census.
“We would both like to thank everyone that’s sent prayers from not only this county and the surrounding counties in Tennessee, but we’ve had people to respond from out of state and we certainly appreciate the prayers. The residents of this county has come and fed these officers, watered the officers, I mean, we could not have asked for better," Sugg said.
