A man who fled from Sequatchie deputies was shot this morning after officers believed he tried to point a weapon at him, Sheriff Ronnie Hitchcock said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is handling the case. Authorities have not released the name of the suspect nor the officer who shot him.

Sheriff Hitchcock said deputies were trying to serve a Cumberland County drug warrant about 10 a.m. CDT today in the parking lot of the county justice center.

He said the subject of the warrant wouldn’t let officers search his vehicle. He said the man jumped in his car and roared toward the parking lot exit, forcing the sheriff and a deputy to dodge.

When the man briefly slowed for another car in the lot, Sheriff Hitchcock said he placed a weapon about a foot from the tire and fired a round, deflating a tire. The man kept driving, reaching Tram Road and then Fredonia road, before he jumped from the car and ran into some trees.

As deputies were converging, the sheriff said, “he turned around like he had a weapon and one of the officers fired on him.”

The suspect’s condition could not be immediately determined.

For complete coverage, see Wednesday’s Times Free Press.

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