Holly MatkinNashville, TN – A Nashville police officer was shot in an ambush attack while responding to a false report of a shooting on Tuesday evening.
The incident began at approximately 6:10 p.m. on May 4, when the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department (NMPD) received a 911 call from a man who claimed his brother had just shot his mother, WKRN reported.
The caller said the gunman was still firing inside their home on Sugarloaf Drive, police said.
At least three NMPD officers responded to the scene.
When they knocked on the front door, the gunman flung the door open and started shooting at them, NMPD spokesperson Don Aaron said during a press conference later that night.
NMPD Officer Brian Sherman was shot in his upper left arm during the ambush, WKRN reported.
BREAKING: Officer Brian Sherman is being treated at Vanderbilt for gunshot wounds to his left arm. Sherman was hit while answering a call of a woman shot at 7220 Sugarloaf Dr. That call was a setup to get police to respond… pic.twitter.com/SHN1K3bzzk
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) May 5, 2021
The officers did not return fire and the gunman retreated into the home, Aaron said.
He has since been identified as 22-year-old Salman Mohamed, the Associated Press reported.
Aaron said police attempted to negotiate with Mohamed, but he ultimately walked out of the house with a rifle and fatally shot himself in the head, according to WKRN.
UPDATE: Very happy to say Nashville officer Brian Sherman is in good condition after being ambushed.
The shooter, 22-year-old Salman Mohamed shot himself in the head as police tried to negotiate with him. @GLFOP pic.twitter.com/FSNJKvLGyp
— George Brown (@georgebrownmem) May 5, 2021
Officers did not fire their weapons at any point during the incident, WNYW reported.
Aaron told reporters the original 911 call “was a ruse or a setup to get the police to come to the house,” WKRN reported.
BREAKING: Nashville police officer shot in South Nashville pic.twitter.com/2WdrlPRptf
— Rebecca Cardenas (@RebeccaWSMV) May 4, 2021
“We believe the person who made the 911 call is Mohamed himself,” he said. “On the 911 call, you can hear him saying that he’s scared. That shots are continuing to be fired. ‘Hurry — hurry. Please get here in a hurry.’”
Officer Sherman was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment of his gunshot wounds, and has since been released to recover at home, WKRN reported.
He has been with the NMPD for two years, according to WNYW.
No other officers were injured during the ambush.
Investigators said the gunman’s three siblings and his mother were all found inside the residence unharmed, WNYW reported.
The motive for the shooting is unknown.
