KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The Knoxville Police Department is asking for help in finding a vehicle believed to be involved in a possible road rage shooting that wounded a 4-year-old on Thursday, according to KPD.
After 10 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, KPD officers responded to East Tennessee Children's Hospital where a 4-year-old boy was brought to the emergency room with a gunshot wound, KPD said.
His wound was not considered to be life-threatening, KPD said. According to the police report, doctors said the boy would be discharged soon after officers arrived.
According to police, it is believed at around 9:15 p.m. Thursday, the victim was a passenger in a car that was in the area of Bethel Avenue and McConnell Street.
Shots were reportedly fired from a second, unidentified car, possibly as a result of road rage, KPD said.
The suspected vehicle was described as a red sedan, possibly a Hyundai Sonata.
Officers searched the area after the shooting to try and locate the vehicle but did not find it or any additional evidence related to the shooting.
In the incident report, police said they spoke with a man walking in the area who told them he heard several gunshots that night, saying he saw a red Hyundai Sonata speeding down Bethel Avenue.
Police said they spoke with the victim's mother. She told them she, her son and another passenger were driving down Chestnut Street and approaching the Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue intersection when a red sedan sped through a red light. The woman said she slammed her brakes to avoid hitting the car.
The woman said she turned onto Bethel Avenue and saw the same red car driving south on McConnell Street at the intersection. She said she could not see who was inside because it was raining heavily and the windows were tinted.
As she turned left onto McConnell Street, she said she heard five to six gunshots and saw the red car drive east down Bethel Avenue. She told police she never saw the gunshots.
A few seconds later, she said her son began yelling that his leg hurt, saying he jumped out of his car seat onto her lap. She said she didn't see any injuries at first, but later saw blood dripping from his leg when they got out of the car. The mother then immediately drove the ETCH.
The incident report said both the mother and the other passenger were "adamant" no other incident had occurred between them and the other vehicle before the shooting.
The incident report included photos of the victims' car. Police said a single round traveled through the trunk and pierced through the back seat and the child's seat. KPD said the round then traveled through the child and through the bottom of his car seat.
Police said the child was sitting behind the front passenger seat.
Police said the passenger found the round in the car seat and gave it to hospital security before they arrived. KPD officers said they could not find any physical evidence of a shooting in the area where it happened.
On Wednesday, March 1, KPD said that no new leads have been generated and that evidence is limited due to weather conditions on the night the shooting occurred. They are continuing to ask for information that could help.
Anyone with information regarding the shooting is urged to contact East Tennessee Valley Crime Stoppers at 865-215-7165 or online at www.easttnvalleycrimestoppers.org. Tipsters can remain anonymous and be eligible to receive a cash reward.
The investigation is ongoing at this time.