NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) – A controversial online streamer was involved in a shooting outside the Montgomery County Courts Complex Wednesday afternoon.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said the incident started as a fight between two men and escalated into gunfire.
Both men were shot, but authorities have not said who pulled the trigger.
One man was taken to Vanderbilt of Clarksville Hospital while the other was transported by LifeFlight to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
The District Attorney General identified one of the men as 28-year-old Dalton Eatherly, a controversial online streamer.
Witness Grace Roberts told WSMV she recognized Eatherly right away when she saw him being wheeled away on a stretcher.
“It’s actually not surprising,” Roberts said. “It feels like it was one of those things that was bound to happen.”
Eatherly is known online for approaching people in public while livestreaming and using racial slurs, claiming to be fighting for freedom of speech.
“I’ve noticed for the past couple of months he’s been messing around with people with his live streams,” Roberts said. “He just knows how to really get under people’s skin, and it doesn’t help when you’re on camera in front of God knows how many people. It just looked like one of those moments where he kind of met one of those people that got tired of it.”
It’s not clear if Eatherly was streaming at the time of the altercation outside the courthouse.
But he was arrested last weekend after allegedly refusing to pay for the almost $400 worth of food he ordered while livestreaming at a downtown Nashville restaurant.
Metro Nashville Police say when the restaurant asked him to stop streaming, he started making racial statements, yelling and screaming.
“You really took the time out of your day to come out of your home, get dressed up, and just find people to mess with,” Roberts said. “And it’s very specific. You’re specifically attacking Black people, and that’s not something that should be okay.”
Roberts says she hopes to see consequences for Eatherly, and hopes the incident sparks a bigger conversation about racism in the Clarksville community.
“I know he’s getting the limelight for his making fun of things, but it’s actually showing that the world hasn’t changed,” she said. “We’re still living in a time where people believe these things. We have to recognize that the racism is right in our neighborhood, and just pay attention to that.”
Dalton Eatherly, age 28.(MCSO)
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office announced late Wednesday night that Eatherly was detained as a result of the shooting. The streamer has been charged with attempted murder, employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon.
Eatherly was booked into the Montgomery County Jail. He is being held pending arraignment where bond will be set.
The Montgomery County Courts Complex will be closed Thursday as the investigation continues.
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