A man from Iowa fired shots at his girlfriend and her five children, whose ages range between 1 and 13, inside a minivan in Tennessee over the weekend. This tragic event resulted in the death of a 4-year-old girl, and left two other children in critical condition.
According to the Metro Nashville Police, the shooting happened on Saturday night in Madison, where the 41-year-old woman and her kids were visiting relatives. Reports from WZTV revealed that 26-year-old Jovien T. Smith and the woman were having a disagreement while she was driving her Dodge minivan. The altercation intensified when Jovien threw the woman’s cell phone out of the window and tried to seize control of the steering wheel, police noted.
The woman safely pulled to the side of the road, when Smith reportedly pulled out his pistol and started shooting.
The woman suffered several gunshot wounds and fled the vehicle to seek assistance. During her escape, Smith shot at the four children. Among the youngest victims, the children aged 1 and 7, are in critical condition, and tragically, the 4-year-old girl succumbed to her injuries. Each of the injured children, as reported by the police, were shot multiple times.
After shooting the children, Smith chased their mother as she sought help from nearby homes. Officers arrived quickly, however, and took the shooter into custody. The mother was hospitalized with serious injuries.
Smith was charged with one count of criminal homicide, five counts of attempted criminal homicide, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and one count of aggravated burglary.
His bond was set at $2.6 million, although the criminal homicide count carries no bond, so he won’t be getting out of jail before trial.
