NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A local pastor is speaking out about the prevalence of gun violence in Nashville after he said his truck was shot five times in a driveway in Inglewood.
Curtis Bryant, lead pastor of Greater Heights Missionary Baptist Church, said he stopped to check his phone behind a gas station off Gallatin Pike. As he tried to turn around in a driveway, he said a man wearing a mask approached him. Bryant believes the man tried to carjack him.
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“I saw him coming with a balaclava on, grabbing my door handle, I was already backing up and I just stepped on it,” Bryant recalled. “I think I made him angry because maybe I wasn’t doing what he wanted to do. So out of anger he shot my vehicle.”
Bryant said his car was also shot at while parked on 16 several years agoe Lane North. He said someone shot in the street near where his car happened to be. However, he said what happened to him earlier this month was very different.
“The intention was for me and it was traumatic, but I thank God I’m alive, but shooting and this kind of violence can strike anywhere,” Bryant said. “I think I’ve just been shown that I’m not exempt.”
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Bryant had to replace several tires and still has damage to his headlight and driver’s side door. Although he initially stopped to check his phone, he said staying brief and paying attention behind the wheel helped keep him safe.
“Be careful. Keep your head up because if I had kept my head down for a few more seconds, he would have been on me without me realizing it,” Bryant said.
Bryant spends much of his time addressing gun violence in the area. Last year around Juneteenth, he even helped coordinate a ceasefire initiative in his neighborhood.
Nevertheless, he explained that no one is immune to gun violence and urged everyone to remain alert.
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“It’s a shame, but gun violence is common. I am not exempt and the people are not exempt,” Bryant said. “We need to do what we can to keep young people aware and aware of potentially volatile situations.”
Bryant is one of several local pastors meeting with Mayor Freddie O’Connell on Monday, June 24, to discuss solutions to address gun violence in the area. Monday’s meeting will focus on how to reduce gun violence among Nashville’s youth.
News 2 also reached out to Metro Nashville police for more information about the shots fired incident, but have not yet heard back.
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