NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) responded to “a fatal shooting investigation” call Tuesday afternoon near mile marker 80.
Traffic was backed up for miles after the MNPD responded to a call that closed all northbound lanes of Interstate 65 near mile marker 80. Erin Zeigler with the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) posted to X that the ramp connecting Interstate 440 to Interstate 65 North had been closed due to a police investigation.
At 3:13 p.m., the MNPD posted to X that traffic on Interstate 65 north was being diverted from the Interstate 440 exit ramp “due to a fatal shooting investigation.” Drivers were advised to seek alternate routes. Zeigler later posted an estimated full clearance at 5:30 p.m. CST and the closure on the Interstate 65 northbound at Interstate 440 was lifted at about 4:38 p.m.
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The Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) has also responded to the scene. The MNPD told News 2 initially, witnesses thought the incident was related to a carjacking.
At a press conference, MNPD spokesperson Don Aaron said there was an attempted robbery at about 2 p.m. in the parking lot of The Mall at Green Hills. A shopper left the mall with “high-end shopping bags” and was reportedly confronted by two people in a Tesla in the mall parking lot.
“We believe the people in the Tesla were looking for someone to rob,” Aaron said.
When the occupants of the Tesla saw the shopper, 30-year-old Omari Moore reportedly got out and confronted the shopper. Moore allegedly carried a pistol with an extended magazine as he got out of the car. The shopper “resisted the robbery,” Aaron said, and “there was a tussle” between the two. By the end of the “tussle,” the passenger had the shopper’s bags and re-entered the Tesla.
The shopper then pulled up alongside the Tesla, however Aaron said the MNPD could not clearly see what happened during that interaction. The shopper and the Tesla both left the parking lot; the Tesla reportedly traveled along Hillsboro Road before getting onto Interstate 440 and attempting to make it onto Interstate 65.
An MNPD press release later said the shopper chased after the car as it began to pull away and threw the extended magazine into the Tesla. That magazine, along with two shell casings, were recovered from the parking lot by the MNPD.
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“The driver, who was already shot as a result of this interaction in the parking lot of the mall, crashes into the tree,” Aaron said.
The driver of the Tesla was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was later pronounced dead. A press release from the MNPD indicated efforts are ongoing to notify his next of kin. The passenger got out of the car and “dumped a gun over the guardrail” by Interstate 65. MNPD officers were able to recover that weapon, which was later identified as a semi-automatic pistol that was missing a magazine.
The MNPD announced Moore’s arrest for aggravated robbery and unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon in connection with this case. Police said Moore claimed he did not know when the driver was shot, nor how the shooting happened. Moore also reportedly refused to tell officers where he was prior to the crash.
In 2021, Moore was arrested for evading arrest, auto theft, felony reckless endangerment and multiple traffic offenses after he allegedly fled from THP troopers in a stolen Land Rover. News 2 previously reported Moore was free on bond in relation to a 2019 arrest when he was arrested in 2021.
Aaron added the MNPD wishes to speak with the shopper confronted in the parking lot of The Mall at Green Hills.
“Today, an altercation occurred in the north parking lot. The altercation did not occur inside the Mall and the Mall was not on lockdown,” The Mall at Green Hills manager, Norah Buikstra, said in a statement to News 2. “This is an active investigation, and the Police will provide more details when they have completed their investigation.”
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This is a developing story. WKRN News 2 will continue to update this article as new information becomes available.
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