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Edward Ahrens kidnapped an 11-year-old girl and hit authorities with his vehicle, according to law enforcement. Officers shot him to death. (Mug shot: Georgia sex offender registry; screenshot of law enforcement response: Tennessee Department of Transportation)
A sex offender kidnapped an 11-year-old girl and used his vehicle to run over law enforcement who were working to save her, say authorities in Tennessee. In response, authorities fatally shot him, according to officials.
“The child did not sustain injury in the incident,” wrote the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. “Three Knox County deputies sustained minor injuries and received medical treatment at the scene.”
The case started over in Knox County. The TBI put out an endangered child alert for a child last seen on Jan. 30 in the Halls area of Knox County. They and Knox County deputies now say, however, that Edward Ahrens, 38, abducted her.
“This is another case of a young child being lured by a sexual predator through social media that could have ended a young girl’s life,” Catoosa County Sheriff Gary Sisk said in a statement obtained by Law&Crime. “We have got to find a remedy to better protect our children.”
Ahrens was sentenced in 2008 to 20 years in prison for sexual exploitation of children, but was released from incarceration in 2018, records show.
Authorities said that they made their way to the area of the state line between Georgia and Tennessee to find the missing girl. Ahrens was allegedly going south on Interstate 75 toward Georgia.
According to deputies, their investigators as well as other local Tennessee agencies and the Catoosa County Sheriff’s Office from Georgia found her and the suspect sometime after 1 a.m. on Friday. The TBI said the suspect vehicle left the highway at exit 1 in the city of East Ridge, Tennessee.
The Knox County Sheriff’s Office and the TBI both say that Ahrens refused law enforcement officers’ commands to surrender. He ran over at least three detectives with his vehicle, deputies said. In response, officials opened fire, fatally shooting him, according to both agencies. He was pronounced dead at a hospital. At least four officers opened fire, the TBI said.
The victim was found in the vehicle after the shooting.
“TBI is working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews,” deputies wrote. “Throughout their investigative process, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office will not name the Detectives involved in the incident. Per Knox County Sheriff’s Office policy, the Detective(s) will be placed on administrative leave with pay. We are grateful that the child, who was on the TBI endangered children’s list, was found alive and is now safe.”
