WREG.com

Suspect identified after Hardeman County hostage situation

HARDEMAN COUNTY, Tenn.– A 22-year-old is charged with attempted murder and aggravated domestic assault following an eight-hour hostage situation in Hardeman County.

Larry Taylor has been charged with three counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and two counts of aggravated kidnapping, according to the Hardeman County Sheriff’s Office. His bond is set at $1 million.

The property was quiet Wednesday. It’s the exact opposite of how things looked for much of Tuesday when Highway 57 was closed between Grand Junction and Saulsbury as multiple law enforcement agencies converged on a mobile home.

Deputies were dispatched to the home around 1 p.m. Tuesday to perform a welfare check. We’re told there was a domestic dispute involving three hostages including a child.

Negotiators and SWAT teams from the Jackson Police Department and Madison County Sheriff’s Office were called in and at some point, the suspect fired shots at deputies but none were hit. However, one of the hostages, who managed to escape earlier in the day, reportedly had been shot and airlifted to Memphis but that person’s identity and condition haven’t been released.

A shattered window is the only immediate sign something violent happened at the mobile home.

Mary Wright said when she found out it was a hostage situation, her first thought was to make sure the children inside Tiny Treasure Daycare were safe.

“We heard all the ambulance and police and everything coming through, so we really didn’t know what was really going on,” Wright said. “And it caused us to try to protect the children. Some parents had to get off work earlier to come and pick up their kids.”

The standoff continued well into the night causing a traffic headache for truck driver Sean Tucker.

“Thought it might be over in a couple of hours, but here we still sit,” Tucker said.

We’re told around 9:30 deputies entered the mobile home and arrested the suspect. The remaining hostages were freed without injury.

The TBI, which is handling the investigation at the request of District Attorney Mark Davidson, told us they will release additional information later in the day Wednesday.