Man who shot wife, self at Collegedale strip mall had history of domestic violence

Collegedale police investigate the scene of a double shooting that left one person dead in a parking lot in front of the Game Stop store near Walmart on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2015, in Collegedale, Tenn. The red pickup truck in the foreground was involved in the incident.
Collegedale police investigate the scene of a double shooting that left one person dead in a parking lot in front of the Game Stop store near Walmart on Sunday, Aug. 26, 2015, in Collegedale, Tenn. The red pickup truck in the foreground was involved in the incident.
photo Jeffery Held, seen here in this 2009 booking photo, shot his ex-wife twice with a shotgun and then turned the gun on himself at a Collegedale shopping center Sunday afternoon.

The man who shot his wife and then killed himself in a Collegedale shopping center parking lot Sunday afternoon has been identified as 38-year-old Jeffery Held.

Held shot his wife around 2:20 p.m. Sunday in the parking lot of the Ooltewah Crossing shopping center on Reagan Lane, just across from Wal-Mart.

He then turned the gun and shot himself in the head. Held died in the parking lot. His wife was taken to Erlanger for treatment and is in stable condition, according to police.

The couple was in the middle of a divorce, according to police. The final paperwork had not been filed, however.

Witnesses told the Times Free Press they saw the man and woman arguing in the parking lot. Collegedale public information officer Tonya Sadler said only that "unknown exchanges occurred" before the man shot the woman, then himself.

Held had faced several criminal charges in Hamilton County Sessions Court between 2006 and 2009. He pleaded guilty twice to charges of driving under the influence and was also charged with felony reckless endangerment and domestic assault.

Held was arrested for the domestic assault in 2008. His then-girlfriend told police he pushed her down on a bed, ripped her shirt off and slapped her. The woman had red marks on her neck and bruises on her chest, according to the police report.

The arresting officer noted that Held was under the influence of alcohol at the time.

The charge was later dismissed on the condition that Held have no contact with the woman.

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