NEWPORT, Tenn. — Update (4 p.m.): The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Cocke County Mayor Rob Mathis said a fugitive wanted after a chase Friday morning has been taken into custody.
The Cocke County Sheriff's Office announced Friday morning it was searching for an "armed and dangerous" fugitive near Castle Heights. According to the CCSO, deputies searched the area of Highway 25/70 around the Cedarwood Veterinary Clinic near Newport on Friday.
The TBI identified the man as Gary Ball, saying he was wanted for violation of parole. The TBI said authorities began searching for him after a vehicle chase Friday morning.
They later said Ball pulled a weapon out of the vehicle window and started shooting at Cocke County deputies. As the pursuit continued, they said he fired shots at the Newport Police Department near the intersection of Blazer Street and North Street.
The police then shot back at him, and TBI said nobody was hit.
The pursuit then continued to Fairview Street, where they said Ball got out of the vehicle and ran away. They said he was later found by authorities at a vacant home in the area of Missionary Ridge Road and was taken into custody without incident.
Around 1:30 p.m., Mathis and the TBI said the situation had been resolved and Ball had been apprehended. The TBI said it was assisted by the Blount County Sheriff's Office, Tennessee Highway Patrol, and the U.S. Marshals Smoky Mountain Fugitive Task Force.
The CCSO said the case has been handed over to the TBI.
Deputies asked people in the area to stay in their homes, lock their doors and windows, and call 911 if they spot anything suspicious.
The sheriff's office said Highway 25/70 at Highway 73 to Bridgeport was closed for the search, asking people to use alternate routes.