Nashville police release 911 calls of shooting that left three injured, gunman dead
The Metro Nashville Police Department released 911 calls following the shooting at Smile Direct Club that left three people injured
Chilling 911 audio released Wednesday by Nashville police provided frightening real-time descriptions of the drama taking place Tuesday morning at a Smile Direct Club warehouse where three people were wounded and the gunman, 22-year-old Antonio King, was ultimately killed.
"He's got multiple clips in his sling pack because he keeps replacing bullets," a caller tells a 911 dispatcher from outside the building. "I probably heard 20 rounds."
"He's got multiple clips in his sling pack because he keeps replacing bullets. I probably heard 20 rounds."
Earlier, the same caller offers a description of the suspect, who was later identified as King, a Smile Direct Club employee.
"The shooter has a green shirt on and a sling pack around his shoulder," the caller says, "and he's walking beside the building currently – still shooting."
Police on Wednesday also released security-camera video, and body camera footage of the shooting.
"He's walking beside the building currently – still shooting."
King, who started working at Smile Direct Club in June after an earlier stint from late 2019 to early 2020, went to the manufacturing facility around 6 a.m. and fired more than 20 rounds from a .45-caliber pistol into the building, police said.
Footage of the incident shows King reloading a handgun multiple times as he engages in a shootout with security guards.
One of the guards, 46-year-old Johnny Hardin, was taken to a hospital in critical condition, police reported. Another guard, 66-year-old Carlton Watson, was in stable condition, while the facility's manager, 54-year-old Thomas Abbott, was treated at a hospital and released.
Police say Antonio King, 22, fired more than 20 rounds into a Smile Direct Club manufacturing facility before he was shot and killed by police. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
In all, Nashville police released two 911 calls from bystanders who witnessed the shooting.
"I have an active shooter. … There is a security officer shot," one of the callers tells the 911 dispatcher. "We cleared the office area and we’re trying to clear people in the parking lot. People are seeking shelter in between the vehicles."
After the shootout outside the building, police tracked King down at a nearby intersection and instructed him to drop his weapon, which he appeared to refuse to do.
"Officers engaged with King on Antioch Pike," Nashville police said. "He refused commands to drop his gun and was fired on as he raised his pistol at police."
This view from Officer Dylan Ramos's body camera shows the intersection that police tracked King to. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
Officers Dylan Ramos and Cherell Kinchloe both fired shots during the confrontation. Nashville police public affairs officer Kristin Mumford said the department was reviewing the shots fired by Officer Kinchloe due to her position behind the other officers.
"The actions of Officer Kinchloe, in firing two shots given the vantage point represented by her video, are under review by the police department," Mumford said in a video released by the department.
Officer Cherell Kinchloe's actions "in firing two shots given the vantage point represented by her video" are under review, police said. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
One co-worker told FOX 17 of Nashville that she remembered King as "nice, police and smart," and was shocked by the shooting.
King's family told Nashville's WKRN-TV that the suspect was a "quiet, caring, fun loving, and hardworking" man. The "reality of his mental illness has taken us by surprise."
"It is important for us as a community to be aware of how mental illness can manifest itself in our loved ones in friends. In the days that we live in where it is so easy to shame, belittle, berate, and criticize others without knowledge of how they struggle daily," the statement said, according to the local news outlet.
Antonio King, 22, was shot and killed by law enforcement after police said he opened fire at a Smile Direct Club manufacturing facility, injuring three people. (Metropolitan Nashville Police Department)
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Smile Direct Club said in a statement after the shooting that the company was "shocked and deeply saddened by the tragic incident that took place at our manufacturing facility."
"We are grateful for the swift actions taken by our Team Members, security personnel and Metro Nashville Police in responding to, and quickly containing, the situation," the company said in the statement. "The safety of our Team Members is a top priority for the Company, and we maintain strict security protocols and a no weapons policy at all our facilities."
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