Nashville police say suspects shot arrested officer in Mt. Juliet

Five suspects accused of firing more than 30 rounds at a Nashville police officer were arrested in Wilson County after a high-speed chase involving a helicopter Monday evening.
Two recovered weapons had been modified to function as fully automatic weapons

Five suspects who investigators say fired more than 30 rounds at a Nashville police officer were arrested in Wilson County after a “high-speed” chase involving a helicopter Monday evening.

The suspects were identified Tuesday as Eric O. Mario, 23, Ronny I. Edmonds, 19, Mahamed M. Muganga, 18, Abraham G. Mario, 19, and Omar A. Yussuf, 18, all of Nashville, according to police.

They are all charged with multiple crimes that police say include aggravated assault of a first responder, use of a firearm in the commission of a dangerous crime, auto theft, theft of firearms, criminal possession of marijuana and evading arrest.

Nashville Detective Chris Lawson was shot while conducting surveillance in the area of Howerton and North 6th Street as part of a police mission, according to the department.

Lawson saw the men holding guns in a parking lot near North 6th Street and drove his undercover police car onto Howerton Street to turn around and get a better view, police said. As he did so, the men began walking toward him, split sides of the street and began shooting as Lawson took steps to get out of the line of fire, according to police.

The detective alerted other units about the suspects, who police said fled the scene in a stolen Infiniti.

The pursuit included the helicopter and continued from Interstate 40 into Wilson County, Nashville police said.

Mt. Juliet police were notified around 11 p.m. of a police pursuit with armed suspects, according to the department.

The helicopter relayed the car’s location throughout the chase, “which allowed our officers to be able to successfully deploy spikes to stop the vehicle,” said Mt. Deputy Chief . Juliet, Tyler Chandler.

Mt. Juliet police deployed the strips from Interstate 40 to Golden Bear Gateway, the department reported.

After the vehicle was disabled, the suspects ran into nearby woods on Golden Bear Gateway at Volunteer Boulevard and a perimeter was established until all suspects were arrested, according to police.

It’s unclear what exactly led to the shooting in Nashville.

Six firearms were recovered after the chase, including two that had been modified to be fully automatic weapons, Nashville police said.

Surveillance of Lawson in the area was part of the TITANS (The Investigative Team Addressing Neighborhood Shootings) unit’s precision policing mission, according to the department.

Nashville Police Chief John Drake said Lawson was “extremely lucky not to have been shot” while on duty.

Contact Andy Humbles at [email protected] or 615-726-5939 and on X, formerly known as Twitter @AndyHumbles.