Man Who Opened Fire on Tennessee Highway May Have Been Motivated by Police Shootings

A man who opened fire on a Tennessee highway early Friday morning, killing one person and injuring several others, may have been motivated by anger over recent police shootings, according to local law enforcement.

The suspect in the highway shooting, identified as Lakeem Keon Scott, allegedly fired through the window of a Days Inn in Bristol, TN and indiscriminately shot at vehicles on the Volunteer Parkway nearby, killing at least one person, according to a statement released by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. The TBI said their preliminary investigation suggests Scott may have been “troubled by recent incidents involving African-Americans and law enforcement officers in other parts of the country.”

The attack took place days after two separate highly publicized police killings of black men and a few hours after a shooter killed five Dallas police officers at a peaceful Black Lives Matter protest Thursday night.

Scott was armed with an assault-style rifle and a pistol, according to the TBI said. When authorities arrived at the scene, Scott also allegedly fired multiple shots at the responding officers, who returned fire. Scott is now hospitalized in serious, but stable condition.

At least one person was killed and several were injured in the attack, which took place at around 2:20 a.m. on Friday morning. Jennifer Rooney was shot and killed while she was driving on the highway, and Deborah Watts, who was shot as she worked at the Days Inn, is in serious but stable condition. Two others, including a police officer, are recovering from minor injuries.