Investigation continues after 4-year-old killed, 2 injured in Nashville shooting

Police said three children under the age of four were in the back seat at the time of the shooting.
MNPD believes the shooting may have been targeted.
Published: May. 30, 2023 at 10:53 PM CDT|Updated: May. 31, 2023 at 12:12 AM CDT

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - A 4-year-old girl has died, her family says, after the car she was riding in came under fire in an apparent targeted shooting Tuesday night.

Metro Police said the shooting happened when the car was stopped at a red light at the intersection of Dickerson Pike and Douglas Avenue just before 8 p.m.

Metro Police spokesman Don Aaron said two people got out of a car that stopped at the red light and opened fire at the Malibu. Aaron said three children, one four years old and the others two years old, were in the back seat of the car.

The 4-year-old girl was shot in the head and has died, according to her family. One of the two-year-olds in the back seat was grazed by a bullet in the head. The 22-year-old man driving the car was shot in the arm.

“From all appearances, this is a targeted shooting,” Aaron said. “They were stopped at the red light, two persons got out of the car and opened fire.”

A witness told WSMV4 she and her boyfriend were in the back of a Lyft at the red light when all of a sudden shots rang out right next to them and shrapnel hit their car.

“I was afraid to look. My boyfriend and I slumped down in our seats so we wouldn’t be near the windows. Our Lyft driver immediately sped down Douglas to get away and we heard continued gunfire all the way down Meridian,” the witness said.

Police found more than 20 casings on the ground at the intersection. Another car was also hit by bullets, but no injuries were reported.

Aaron said the man drove the car to the Family Dollar store about 2.5-3 miles from the shooting scene. It’s believed that the mom of one of the children in the car may have worked there.