Chattanooga Pulse

A call of a man with a rifle resulted in the shooting death of the suspect. According to preliminary reports by investigators, Chattanooga Police were dispatched to 4502 Rossville Blvd on a call of a man in the middle of Rossville Blvd with a rifle. Once officers got on-scene they encountered the suspect standing in front of McDonald’s with a rifle to his face. 

Officers tried to get the suspect, 32-yr-old Alonzo Hayward, to drop the gun, but he refused. Hayward led officers from the McDonald’s parking lot down to 4316 7th Avenue where he engaged police. At some point during contact with Hayward , police were forced to take action and Hayward was shot and subsequently died on the scene.

According to witnesses, Hayward had threatened to commit suicide and several of his friends were trying to talk him out of it when he gained access to the rifle. At some point during the night, Hayward ended up in the middle of Rossville Blvd with the rifle. Passers-by called police and reported several men in the middle of Rossville Blvd wrestling with a man with a gun.

The Chattanooga Police Department and Tennessee Bureau of Investigations is involved in the investigation.