Nashville police shooting kills 30-year-old in Antioch: What we know.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is working to collect evidence after a 30-year-old man, described by his mother as being diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was shot and killed by a Metro Nashville police officer while he held another man hostage.
Joshua Kersey was pronounced dead at a home on Split Oak Trial in Antioch Monday night after officer Cole Ranseen fired one round at the man. Ranseen has been with the department for about 17 months.
The shooting Monday night is the fifth fatal shooting by a Metro police officer this year.
Here's what to know about the fatal shooting:
How the shooting unfolded
Kersey's sister first called 911 at about 8:20 p.m. Monday to report that he'd stolen her vehicle. While she was on the call, Kersey returned home.
She then called back seven minutes after the first call to report he'd become violent and asked for officers to come to the home. Police said Kersey had gotten into a heated argument with his family, but it's unclear what that argument was about.
Kersey's mother, sister, and his sister's four children were outside when officers arrived. Later, his aunt and uncle also came to the home.
For about 40 minutes, police tried to negotiate with Kersey through a closed bedroom door while he held another man hostage at knifepoint, according to a statement from police.
Officers heard a struggle on the other side of the door, then screaming, and they kicked open the door, according to police.
"When they heard screaming inside, they entered the room and encountered the subject with a large knife, coming toward them," a statement from TBI said.
Ranseen fired once, killing Kersey.
911 calls before the shooting released
Kersey's sister called 911 twice in tears.
In the first call, she tells dispatchers they tried following her brother, who'd taken her car while drunk, but lost him. While on the phone, Kersey returns with the vehicle, goes back inside and starts to get upset, his sister told dispatch.
"I'm afraid he's going to hit my mom," she said.
That call lasted less than 5 minutes. At 8:27 p.m., Kersey's sister calls back, but she says nothing as the dispatcher asks for her information.
In the background of the 25-minute call, a grown man screams and yells expletives as two women are heard talking to each other.
"I'm not going to let him stay here after this," a woman, later identified as Kersey's mother, said to his sister.
Both Kersey's sister and mother trade off talking with the dispatcher. They explain that he has mental health issues and gets violent while intoxicated.
"He's in the house with the kids, and I'm really scared," the mother said. "He hasn't had medication in a good long time...He's spent half his life in long-term treatment facilities, and I'm pretty sure he needs to be hospitalized."
The dispatcher asked if she should send an ambulance.
"He's not going to go willingly," the mother replied.
Minutes later, Kersey can be heard in the background threatening the family and another man.
"I'll cut your throat with the knife in my back pocket," he said.
He told his family that police will hurt him if they come to the home.
About halfway through the call, Kersey's sister re-enters the home. Very little is said to dispatchers for the rest of the call, but echoey, largely unintelligible, arguments can be heard between Kersey and another man.
"I'm not spending another year in jail," Kersey said.
The last two minutes of the call is largely absent of conversation except for distant, muffled yells. The call cut off at 23 minutes and 35 seconds.
Nashville police release body camera footage
Metro Nashville Police released body camera footage of the incident Tuesday afternoon. The video, from Ranseen's camera, picks up at about 8:54 p.m.
Ranseen approaches the front of the home, shining his flashlight at the open door. An officer can be heard in the background shouting commands, though it's unclear what was said as department spokesman Don Aaron narrates the video.
Ranseen climbs the stairs of the home before turning left at the landing and meeting a closed door.
"If you open the door, I'll kill him," a man can be heard on the video footage.
"He's got a hostage behind the door," Ranseen calls to his fellow officers.
Ranseen then calls to Kersey, identifying himself.
"I just want to talk," Ranseen says.
"If you open this door, I'll slit his throat," Kersey replies. "I'm not going to jail for another year."
Another officer chimes in, and Kersey again cuts him off, telling him to go away or they both will die.
"You know we can't do that," the officer says.
"We're concerned for you," Ranseen says.
In the video, Kersey slides a ringing cell phone under the door to the officers.
"You want to call this phone, it's going to cost you a life," he says.
One of the officers whispers to the other, "if I get a shot, I'm taking it."
At about 9:37 p.m., officers hear a crashing sound on the other side of the door, according to the video.
"We gotta go, gotta go," Ranseen says as he advances toward the closed door. He kicks the door open and begins yelling at Kersey to show his hands.
Kersey grabs the other man, pulling him off the bed. The two fall to the ground and roll apart. Ranseen fires at Kersey's abdomen, as he's lying on his back.
Kersey died at the scene.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville police shooting: What to know after 911 calls, video release
