MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — A man wanted in multiple counties was shot in the leg during an altercation with Mt. Juliet police officers Friday afternoon in the parking lot of an apartment complex.
A police officer pulled over the unidentified man in a vehicle without a license plate who drove through a stop sign around 5:30 p.m. at the Willow Creek Apartments, according to the Mt. Juliet Police Department.
Officers working the traffic stop discovered the man was wanted out of Humphreys County and Shelby County and noticed that the man had a gun visibly showing in his waistband. Mt. Juliet police say the officers instructed the man to not reach for the gun.
When the officers attempted to arrest the man, they reported that he reached towards the gun in his waistband, which resulted in "a struggle" in the parking lot while attempting to secure his hands. During this struggle, the handgun in the man's waistband went off, injuring his lower leg.
The Mt. Juliet police officers say they found the gun still inside the man's pants after he was injured and one of the officers "quickly applied a tourniquet to stop the suspect's blood loss" before the man was transported to a local hospital for treatment. His injury was labeled by police as non-life-threatening.
One of the officers involved in the struggle injured their back and was transported to a local hospital for treatment. The officer's injury was also identified as non-life-threatening.
The investigative division of the Mt. Juliet Police Department is assisting the investigation into this incident. The police department says none of the officers involved pulled out a firearm and all were wearing Bodyworn cameras.
