James Vaughn, 49

Clarksville, Tennessee
March 16, 2018

Agencies: Clarksville Police Department Tennnessee | Tennessee Bureau of Investigation TBI

Cause of death: Shooting

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Last updated: almost 6 years ago

Overview

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating after police shot and killed a man who had been barricaded for hours Friday inside a gated apartment complex on Big Sky Drive in Clarksville.

The suspect was identified late Friday as James Vaughn, 49, the ex-boyfriend of a woman who recently went missing in Middle Tennessee, according to a news release issued by the TBI.

Officials have not identified the woman or shared any details about her case.

Investigators learned her ex-boyfriend may have been staying with a family acquaintance at the Fountains of Meadow Wood apartment complex and tried to talk to him there, but he refused to cooperate or talk to the officers, the release said.

After hours of failed negotiations, Clarksville Police Department SWAT officers breached the apartment door at about 1 p.m., and the suspect fired several shots in their direction, the release said, noting that subsequent efforts to diffuse the situation, including further negotiation and tear gas, were unsuccessful.

At about 3:30 p.m., officers again breached the apartment door, “only to be met by the subject holding two weapons,” the release reads. “The subject reportedly pointed the weapons in the direction of the officers, who fired upon him, striking him several times, killing him.”

CPD Lt. Steve Warren confirmed that the man was shot after a standoff that began at about 12:35 a.m. Friday.

No one else was injured.

CPD asked TBI to handle the investigation, Warren said.

A team of special agent/forensic scientists had been called to the scene to process and gather evidence Friday night. The TBI will turn over any findings to District Attorney General John Carney's office for possible charges.

Earlier in the day, the CPD issued a release saying it had deployed its tactical unit in response to the incident, but there was no known danger to the general public.