Nashville police have arrested a 16-year-old in connection with a shooting outside the Virgin Hotel on Music Square West that injured a valet worker earlier this month.
According to Metro Nashville Police, the December 5 shooting stemmed from a road-rage incident outside the popular Nashville hotel. Investigators say the 26-year-old valet was assisting a guest around 1:48 p.m. when the driver of a gray Kia Optima became upset over the valet’s position in the street. After a brief confrontation, the driver fired a gun, striking the valet in the left thigh.
The injured valet was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment and is expected to recover. Following the shooting, police issued a search for a gray Kia Optima with Tennessee license plates.
Detectives later connected the vehicle to a separate package theft investigation. That lead brought officers to a North Nashville apartment complex, where the teen suspect was arrested on December 16. Police say a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine was found inside the suspect’s backpack. The weapon matched evidence from the Virgin Hotel shooting and had been reported stolen during a vehicle burglary in 2022.
The 16-year-old is now facing multiple charges in Juvenile Court, including attempted criminal homicide, reckless endangerment, unlawful possession of a firearm by a juvenile, possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony, gun theft, and vandalism.