GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) – Police in Gallatin need your help taking a dangerous man off the streets.
The suspect is reportedly an ex-con accused of shooting a man in the chest at a Gallatin convenience store on the evening of Saturday, June 3.
According to police, the 54-year-old store employee was shot in the chest and the bullet missed the man’s heart by a centimeter.
News 2 has obtained body camera footage right when the shots fired call went out.
When the officer arrived at the Twice Daily in the 1500 block of Airport Road, he found the victim on the floor with multiple Gallatin police officers rendering aid.
According to command staff, the officer wearing the body camera was trained in combat casualty care and had medical training that was evident as he delivered commands to his fellow officers, who all worked in concert to stop the man’s severe bleeding.
“Clear, go ahead. Put that chest seal right in the middle. We got to check him for secondaries; roll him over. We have to see if it is a through and through,” the officer was heard saying.
According to Captain Lamar Ballard of the GPD, it all began when the victim and his coworker,
now identified as 33-year-old Imani Wright, got into an argument.
According to police, Wright called her boyfriend, William Rutherford, who came to the store with a weapon.
Police said the 40-year-old ex-con confronted the victim who was having a smoke break in the back of the store. That’s when police said Rutherford shot at the man multiple times, with one bullet striking him in the chest, barely missing his heart.
Ballard said the victim is in critical-stable condition.
News 2 has learned that Rutherford spent 19 years in prison for second-degree murder stemming from a 2003 incident in Sumner County. Rutherford was released 18 months ago
and now he’s wanted in connection for another violent crime.
“This individual knows we are looking for him. If he will turn himself in, contact us, let us know where he is at, we will have a peaceful resolution for him,” Ballard said.
Before she, too, was arrested, Wright, still wearing her store uniform, was heard saying, “I just want to go home.”
Wright is charged with solicitation for attempted second-degree murder.
In the meantime, police said Rutherford is considered armed and dangerous. If you see him or have information, you are urged to call the Gallatin Police Department at 615-452-1313.