Sandy MaloneKingsport, TN – A man with a gun stopped an active shooter in a dentist’s office on Wednesday morning.
The incident began at about 9:47 a.m. on Feb. 13 when a man with a gun burst into a David A. Guy Dentistry in the 100-block of Clinic Drive in Colonial Heights, the Kingsport Times-News reported.
Police said the man opened fire on his wife who was an employee at the dental practice.
Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy told WCYB that the “active shooter” was stopped by an armed citizen who was a patient at the dental office.
“Luckily, we had a citizen with a concealed carry permit stop the violent confrontation and hold him at bay,” Sheriff Cassidy said.
He said that law enforcement arrived on the scene seven minutes after the 911 call was received.
The sheriff said that in the meantime, the armed citizen “reacted to a violent confrontation and shot the suspect and eliminated a threat.”
Sheriff Cassidy was full of praise for the armed patient, who has a concealed-carry permit, WCYB reported.
The sheriff said no motive for the shooting was yet known, and he did not have any information about the couple’s relationship history prior to the murder.
The wife was transported to the hospital where she died.
The suspect was also transported to the hospital with two bullet wounds, Sheriff Cassidy told WCYB.
Police have not yet released the names of the shooter and his wife because they are notifying next of kin, the Kingsport Times-News reported.
Authorities also have not released the name of the armed patient who shot the suspect.
“A concealed carry permit holder saw the threat, took action on the threat and stood by until officers arrived,” Sheriff Cassidy said. “We’re calling him a hero today.”
There was a lockdown at Colonial Heights Middle School after the incident as a precaution, the Kingsport Times-News reported.
Kingsport police and the Tennessee Highway Patrol also responded to the shooting.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation was assisting the Sullivan County prosecutor’s office with the investigation, according to the Kingsport Times-News.