Nashville Chief’s Son Wanted for Two Counts Of Attempted Murder

Tennessee authorities were searching for John Drake, Jr., Nashville’s police chief’s son, who was identified as the suspect in the shooting of two police officers investigating a stolen vehicle outside a Dollar General store. During a struggle, Drake fired shots at the two officers with a handgun, hitting one in the shoulder and the other in the groin and forearm, according to The New York Times. The police issued a shelter-in-place order before lifting it Saturday night. Chief John Drake confirmed that the suspect was his estranged son, saying that the two had had “very minimal contact over many years.” “Despite my efforts and guidance in the early and teenage years, my son, John Drake Jr., now 38 years old, resorted to years of criminal activity and is a convicted felon,” Chief Drake said. “He now needs to be found and held accountable for his actions today.” The younger Drake is wanted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and the agency is offering a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his capture. The injured officers, Ashley Boleyjack and Gregory Kern, were taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment. Chief Drake became known for supporting gun violence measures after an assailant breached the campus of the Covenant School, a private academy in Nashville, and killed three adults and three children. “I will say to Nashville and the rest of the country: We have to do something with gun violence and mental illness,” he said. “Our kids are counting on this.”