Eight people and a dog are shot in Nashville during gun battle sparked by a dispute over the canine
Eight people and a dog were shot in Downtown Nashville early Sunday after a dispute over the dog sparked a gun battle between two men, police said.
Gunshots grazed or hit eight people at the corner of Second Avenue North and Commerce Street just after 1 a.m., reported WKRN.
Police said a man with a dog and a group were hanging out in the area. The group argued with him about the dog, and the man pulled a handgun.
Randell Stroud, 33, said he was coming home from a night out in Nashville on Sunday around 1 a.m. when he got into a discussion with two men with Bibles. Then shots rang out behind him
One of the bullets grazed his head. A police officer called him a 'walking miracle' because if it had struck him an inch to the right, things would have been much worse
A second man, from the group, left. He returned a few minutes later with several other men - and a gun.
The two men then exchanged gunfire.
One of the eight victims said he was returning from a night out with a friend when they got into a philosophical discussion with two men with Bibles, he told WKRN.
As they talked, shots rang out from behind.
'The first shot, it came from behind me to the left and it scraped the side of my head back here,' said Randell Stroud, 33. 'It hit me and I felt this intense pressure and this intense kind of burning heat.'
Just after 1 a.m. Sunday at the corner of Second Avenue North and Commerce Street, shots struck or grazed eight people as two men traded gunfire
The gun battle was sparked by a dispute over a dog, which was shot in the hip and taken to an emergency vet
He felt the back of his head and saw blood on his hand.
A Metropolitan Nashville police officer called him a 'walking miracle,' Stroud told the news station.
'If that bullet went just an inch, a little bit more to the right, this would be a completely different situation,' Stroud said the cop told him.
Stroud, who described the scene as 'pandemonium,' said he saw people scatter in all directions but did not spot a gunman.
Five of the gunshot victims were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, and one refused to go to the hospital, reported the Nashville Tennessean.
Police are seeking the two alleged shooters and have made no arrests. A handgun was recovered from the scene
All were responsive at the scene and able to speak with first responders, Nashville Fire Department Community Services Manager Joseph Pleasant told the Tennessean. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
The dog was shot in the hip, and a bystander took it to an emergency veterinary clinic, Pleasant said. There was no update Monday on the dog's status.
Police are seeking the two shooters and have made no arrests. Detectives interviewed several witnesses and victims.
A handgun was recovered from the scene.
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