NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The victim injured in a shooting incident in a Walmart parking lot argues the charge should be harsher for the suspect.
Kelly Ivey tells NewsChannel 5 he was pulling out of a parking spot at the Dickerson Pike Walmart in Nashville when a man stopped and confronted him, saying Ivey almost hit his vehicle.
According to a Metro Nashville Police Department report, Earl Smith told officers he approached Ivey after witnessing Ivey sideswipe a vehicle. The affidavit goes on to read that when Ivey ignored Smith, Smith reached into Ivey's vehicle and grabbed the gear shift to place the car in park in an attempt to stop Ivey from leaving the scene. That's when, according to police, Smith reached for a gun and pointed it at the victim. The narrative from the affidavit reads:
The victim placed the vehicle into drive after reversing and in doing so, the defendant shot his handgun in the direction of the victim's neck causing a grazing injury to the left side of his neck.
Metro investigators say a private security guard attempted to help the victim and secured the gun from the suspect until officers arrived.
Earl Smith was taken into custody and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and released on a $1,000 bond.
Ivey says he suffered a significant injury and argues the charge against Smith should be harsher.
"They locked him up with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. That's attempted murder. He tried to kill me," Ivey tells NewsChannel 5. "He shot me in my neck, he tried to kill me."
Ivey says he's lucky to be alive.
