SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — Sevier County deputies arrested a man suspected of shooting a 60-year-old and threatening to ignite an explosive.
According to the Sevier County Sherriff's Office, deputies responded to a shooting in the 200 block of Asheville Highway on Thursday and found 60-year-old Mark Kennard with multiple gunshot wounds. Three other people were inside the home when the shooting happened.
The suspected shooter, 35-year-old Eric Coates, was armed and sitting inside a vehicle when deputies arrived. Deputies said he refused to surrender and threatened to ignite what he described as an explosive device.
Multiple agencies responded, including Jefferson County SWAT and the Sevier Count Interagency Bomb Squad. Officers said they used a type of tear gas on Coates, saying he surrendered after a two-hour standoff.
Coates was taken to LeConte Medical Center for evaluation and later booked into the Sevier County Jail on four counts of attempted first-degree murder. He also had an outstanding warrant for failure to appear.
Kennard was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he is listed as being "stable."
"Sevier County Sheriff Michael Hodges would like to express his sincere gratitude to all of the agencies that responded to assist, to include Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office S.W.A.T. Team, Sevier County Interagency Bomb Squad, Sevier County EMA, Sevier County Ambulance Service, Northview Fire Department and AMR Ambulance Service," the SCSO said.