NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — On Wednesday night, a shooter reportedly opened fire on a Nashville man’s car during a suspected road rage incident near Percy Priest Lake, killing the man’s dog.
“It’s been about 36 hours since he passed and I’ve just done nothing but mourn,” Whitney Peterson said when he spoke to News 2 on Friday, Sept. 6.
The shooting was reported at approximately 11:20 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 4. According to the Metro Nashville Police Department, the victim was driving north on Bell Road, near Smith Springs Road, when a black Dodge Ram pickup truck was following him closely, probably wanting to pass him.
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“On our way home, everything was fine, and when we got to Bell Road, a guy in a truck was driving erratically behind me,” Peterson recalled.
When Peterson stopped at the red light, ready to turn left into his neighborhood, the suspect reportedly pulled up next to him, pointed a gun, and fired at the passenger’s side, shooting out the back window and hitting the German Shorthaired Pointer in the back seat.
“I saw the barrel of his gun, and that’s when I ducked, and I felt the round go by my ear, and he fired two more shots. One ended up in the side of the car and the third one in the chest of Scout,” Peterson said, his voice tight with emotion.
Peterson told News 2 he drove up the street and called 911, but by the time he pulled over, his dog was already dead.
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Scout had been a lifeline for Peterson for the past several years.
“Scout came to me in 2021 when the world was kind of crumbling around me, and he was pretty instrumental in lifting me up out of depression, and he gave me an immense amount of purpose,” Peterson explained.
Peterson created his business, Scout’s Honor Formulas, to find ways to provide better nutrition for his canine companion.
“I wanted him to live with forever…I knew that I couldn’t make that happen, but I was going to give it my best shot,” Peterson said.
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According to Peterson, everyone knew Scout because he was a big member of the neighborhood community, as well as the farmer’s market community.
While Peterson looks for new ways to honor his best friend, he also wants the suspect to be caught so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.
“This is the saddest I’ve ever been. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this,” Peterson cried. “We had a new adventure right around the corner, literally 12 hours away.”
When the shooting took place, Peterson told News 2 he was in the process of moving to a new home so he could have a bigger yard for Scout.
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As for the suspect, police said he drove north on Bell Road as he fled the scene of the shooting. Detectives from the Hermitage Precinct are still working to identify the gunman.
If you have any information about Wednesday night’s incident, you are asked to call Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463.
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