‘It’s tragic’: Search for suspect continues after teen’s body found behind Antioch church
A man who witnessed the “young man’s lifeless body” off Bell Forge Lane spoke with WSMV4.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - Police launched an investigation after the body of an 18-year-old was found shot behind an Antioch church Thursday morning. A man who said he drove by minutes after police pulled up to the church broke down what he witnessed.
Marqo Patton said he was on his way to the grocery store on Bell Forge Lane when his mouth dropped.
“I was stunned, I was in a state of shock,” Patton said. “I’m going straight through the parking lot, and I’m looking at the cops and I’m saying, ‘What is going on?’”
Then he realized what police were looking at.
“Before you know it, I catch a glimpse of this young man’s lifeless body,” Patton said.
Police said that young man was 18-year-old Rickey Hale.
“I couldn’t wrap my head around it,” he said.
Officers think Hale was shot somewhere around the Bell Forge Lane area Wednesday night, before collapsing right behind a church. Investigators said Hale laid there behind Lakeshore Christian Church for hours until someone found him Thursday morning.
“A young man who I could only imagine just struggled and struggled alone and was just kind of left out,” Patton said.
Patton said his heart broke knowing this happened just yards away from his home.
“It’s in my neighborhood, I’m right there two minutes away … it was extremely hard to process,” Patton said.
Police said they’re investigating the shooting as a homicide and looking for whoever pulled the trigger.
“It’s tragic,” Patton said. “It’s unfortunate, and it doesn’t have any place in Antioch.”
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