News

Aug 24, 2023

Police: Hamilton Place shooting Saturday led to chase on East Brainerd Road

Two people who led police on a chase near Hamilton Place mall Saturday had been

Two people who led police on a chase near Hamilton Place mall Saturday had been shot at by a third person before fleeing, court documents show.

The alleged shooter, Montrel Darriel Price Jr., 25, now faces charges including two counts of aggravated assault, vandalism and theft for possessing a stolen gun, according to court filings.

(READ MORE: Chattanooga police arrest suspects involved in Saturday shooting, pursuit)

Chattanooga police responded to reports of shots fired near Dick's Sporting Goods around 5 p.m. Saturday, according to an affidavit in the case.

Anthony Douglas, 19, a juvenile male and two other people fled the scene in a black Infiniti sedan, the affidavit states.

Police followed the car, which had black tinted windows and a temporary tag, on Gunbarrel Road.

During the chase, the affidavit states, the driver of the Infiniti ran a red light and drove into a lane of oncoming traffic.

"The driving of the Infiniti placed members of the public in imminent danger of bodily injury," police wrote in the report.

After briefly losing the car, police picked the chase back up on East Brainerd Road, according to the affidavit, until the Infiniti crashed into another car at Shallowford Road and Jersey Pike.

(READ MORE: One dead, two injured in crash on Volkswagen Drive)

The four people in the car fled on foot, court filings state, and police detained Douglas and the juvenile male after a short chase.

Douglas now faces charges of resisting arrest, evading arrest and leaving the scene of an accident. He is set to appear in court May 10 in front of Hamilton County General Sessions Court Judge Christie Sell, court records show.

The juvenile, who police say was driving the Infiniti, was charged with resisting arrest, evading arrest, reckless driving, reckless endangerment and several traffic citations, according to police.

Douglas told police that before the initial chase, he and others in the car had been fired upon by someone in a gray Audi sedan near Hamilton Place. Multiple cars were damaged by the gunfire, police said in a news release, and 26 shell casings were found in the parking lot, according to the affidavit.

(READ MORE: Boy, 15, arrested in connection with Monday afternoon shooting, Brainerd Road SWAT response)

Two witnesses told police they had to hide behind their car when shooting began in the parking lot, court documents state. One bullet went through their windshield and landed in a child's car seat in the backseat, according to the affidavit.

Police identified Montrel Price as the Audi's driver after talking to witnesses and reviewing security footage that showed the car's tags, according to the affidavit. Investigators went to Price's Ooltewah apartment and found the car, court filings state.

Price reportedly told police he had been using the car before and after the time of the reported shooting but was "uncooperative" when asked about the one- to two-hour timeframe when the shots were fired. He was found with a stolen gun that police said he was trying to discard, as well as several other firearms at his home, the affidavit states.

Price was arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment, vandalism, theft, tampering with evidence and possessing a firearm with the intent to go armed, according to jail records.

He is set to appear in court May 17 in front of General Sessions Court Judge Gary Starnes, court records show.

Contact Ellen Gerst at [email protected] or 423-757-6319.