William Harvey
Shawn Russell succumbed to his stabbing injuries after a fight at Rumors Bar & Grille.Police have arrested 25-year-old William Matthew Harvey and charged him with manslaughter in connection with the stabbing death of an Army veteran earlier this month.
Shawn Russell, 36, was stabbed in the torso during a brawl at Rumors Bar on Hixson Pike on April 5 and died from his injuries at a local hospital.
Video surveillance from the bar showed Russell wielding a pool cue during the fight, which happened just after 1 a.m., said Lt. Glenn Scruggs.
The following day, two persons of interest were identified and sought by police, and on Thursday, both were found and interviewed. Harvey was arrested on Tuesday.
Police aren't sure why the fight that resulted in Russell's death started, but authorities said the fight centered on the victim and the other two men while another half dozen attempted to break it up.
Russell served with the U.S. Army Reserve, the Army, and the Tennessee Army National Guard, according to an Army spokeswoman. He last served in 2008 and was a private.
The spokeswoman also said he was deployed to Kuwait and Iraq for three months in 2003 and was awarded a National Defense Service Medal and an Army Service Ribbon.
Since he last served in the military, Russell had run into trouble in Hamilton County on multiple occasions.
Russell was the ninth person to be killed in Chattanooga in 2016, but there have been two homicides since then.
Robert Jackson, 22, was shot to death in a parking lot near a bar on Lee Highway on April 10, and 17-year-old LaDarious Bush was shot to death while inside a home on Seventh Avenue.