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A Grammy Award winner was killed at his Nashville home during a SWAT response after reportedly holding two family members hostage.
Mark Capps, a four-time Grammy-winning recording engineer who has worked with several country artists, was shot and killed by a Nashville SWAT Team on Thursday (January 5) at his home in Hermitage, per FOX 17. The 54-year-old was wanted for domestic aggravated assault and aggravated kidnapping warrants after allegedly holding his 60-year-old wife and 23-year-old stepdaughter at gunpoint in the family room the previous night, threatening to kill them if they attempted to call for help.
According to Metro Nashville Police Department spokesperson Don Aaron, the pair were able to escape the home when Capps fell asleep, driving to a nearby police precinct to report the incident. Arrest warrants were issued around 2 p.m. and a SWAT team was dispatched to the home when police say Capps opened the front door holding a pistol
Bodycam footage reportedly shows a veteran officer asking Capps to show his hands before shots ring out, shattering the glass storm door, per Billboard. Believing Capps posed an immediate threat, the officer continued to tell him to show his hands before Capps was fatally shot.
Aaron said he doesn't believe Capps fired any shots, but because he refused to drop his firearm, officers said he was an imminent threat. There will be a mandatory investigation into the fatal shooting regarding the use of force via the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. Investigators with Metro Nashville Community Oversight, an independent group that addresses police accountability, also responded to the scene following the incident.
No officers were injured in the incident, and Capps' wife and stepdaughter are reported to be safe.