Shooter’s neighbors still reeling from shooting incident

By Vincent T. Davis
Diversity Institute Fellow

08.12.03

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James Nelson, the Gallatin man who held police at bay for seven hours Monday, is in custody facing an attempted murder charge, but reminders of his standoff still plague his close-knit neighborhood.

Two television news trucks camped out Tuesday across from Nelson’s home at 846 Kathy Dr., where reporters waited to interview residents about their neighbor’s shooting spree.

Motorists passing the one-story, brick house slowed while peering at jagged windows broken by tear gas cartridges and ragged hedges neighbors said Nelson cut with a chainsaw before his violent encounter with police.

On Monday, police came to the area after Nelson — for reasons unknown — went on a shooting rampage. One officer was shot in the arm during the incident.

Clint Binkley, who lives next door, was home at 2 p.m. when Nelson, a former city planner, emptied a double-barreled shotgun along the left side of Binkley’s black Volvo parked in his driveway. The 21-year-old Vanderbilt University student vaulted his back yard fence to the safety of a neighbor’s home.

Across the street, shotgun pellets pockmarked the corner of the Bradley home where Nelson, who was standing in his yard, shot Officer Shane Woodard in his left forearm and hand after the officer tried to help another neighbor to safety. Woodard was treated at a nearby hospital and released Tuesday. Hours later, neighbors said they saw the officer inspecting the spot where he almost lost his life.

Some of the pellets partially penetrated Woodward’s bullet-proof vest, said Gallatin Police spokesperson Kate Novitsky. “His vest helped him out…We provide it for safety and they’re going to wear it.”

The 58-year-old Nelson, who lived alone with his dog, left his city job several years ago for undisclosed reasons, Novitsky said. He later wrote threatening letters to city employees and also stuffed disturbing letters into his neighbors’ mailboxes.

Mike and Leigh Bohannon, who lived next door to Nelson, received several letters that they said rambled on for 20 pages or more. In the letters, Nelson complained about childhood problems and other issues, they said.

When Monday’s ordeal began, the Bohannons were away from home and were stopped by police as they returned. They spent more than six hours standing in a crowd several blocks away until they were allowed back after Nelson had surrendered at 9:20 p.m.

When the couple entered their house, they found that police had broken in to use it as a command center. Leigh, 40, said they also discovered that officers had fired tear gas cartridges through their first floor bathroom window at Nelson who returned fire, damaging their attic window.

On Tuesday, the Bohannons were still cleaning the debris but didn’t blame police for the damage.

“Just a couple of windows and we’ll be back to normal,” Mike, 32, said.

Across the street, Robbie Frye, 76, said she was one of the first to see Nelson brandishing his shotgun as she was backing out of her driveway. Her husband Scottie, who was putting tree branches in his red Toyota pickup truck, had no idea he was in his neighbor’s sights.

“The man stooped down and had the gun pointed right at him,” Frye said. Jamming her fist on the horn, Frye startled her husband enough so that he rushed to her and out of the line of fire.

Two doors down from the Fryes, Steve Robinson, 45, had pulled his 1998 blue Chevrolet Astra van into the street when he spied police cars blocking both ends of his street. Barely a second after passing Nelson’s house, a buckshot sprayed his hood and riddled his radiator. Flooring the gas pedal and ducking beneath the wheel saved him. Later that night, he told his wife Alison about his ordeal.

Robinson said his neighbor reportedly had a history of mental health issues. “Police said he had an arsenal of weapons, what a wonderful combination,” he said with sarcasm.

Nelson, who was arrested after he surrendered on his back porch, has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. Sumner County prosecutors could add other charges, police said.

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Articles, photos by Summer 2003 Diversity Institute Fellows
Collection page for articles  07.29.03