Deadly shooting at water park followed an escalating ‘altercation,’ Tennessee cops say

One woman is dead and another injured after gunfire erupted outside a Tennessee water park over the weekend, officials said.

The shooting followed an escalating “altercation” at Soaky Mountain Waterpark in Sevierville, according to a preliminary police investigation. The 50-acre tourist attraction is near the vacation destinations of Gatlinburg and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

At about 8 p.m. Saturday, the Sevierville Police Department said it received a call about shots fired in Soaky Mountain’s parking lot. That’s where they found two women who had been shot, identified as Kelsy Cook, 24, and Angie Russell, 23.

Cook was taken by air to a Knoxville hospital, where she was pronounced dead, officials said.

Russell was taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening injury. Police said both women were from Loudon, a town roughly 35 miles southwest of Knoxville.

“The Soaky Mountain management team is committed to our guests’ safety and we are deeply saddened by the events that occurred in our parking lot on Saturday evening after our water park closed,” general manager Dave Andrews said in an emailed statement. “The Sevierville Police Department is overseeing this investigation and we are fully cooperating with them. Because this is an active investigation we cannot comment on it any further.”

After responding to the shooting, officers said they stopped a car with two possible suspects inside.

Sarah Romine, 31, of Knoxville, was charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault and “possession of a firearm while intoxicated,” police said. Joshua Dannels, 30, of Crossville, is also facing the latter charge.

The two reportedly were arrested and taken to the Sevier County Jail.

The police department in a Facebook post didn’t share attorney information for Romine or Dannels. A water park representative didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Monday.

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