A workplace argument over a drink turned deadly at a Nashville U-Haul store, where police say a 23-year-old employee shot and killed his 56-year-old co-worker.
Devin Rice is accused of fatally shooting Frederick Lytton during their shift on Aug. 5 after the two got into a verbal argument over a beverage.
According to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department, the dispute escalated when Rice allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot Lytton multiple times.
Lytton was rushed to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he later died from his injuries.
Police said Rice admitted to shooting his co-worker following the argument.
After the gunfire, Rice allegedly fled the U-Haul location before officers later tracked him down and arrested him.
The 23-year-old now faces a criminal homicide charge.
U-Haul officials said they were stunned by the violence.
“We are shocked and deeply saddened by what occurred,” Jeff Porter, U-Haul’s area district vice president for Tennessee, said in a statement.
“Our concern right now is being there to support the victim’s family and our Team Members affected by this tragic event.”
The shooting also left people who live nearby shaken.
Joshua Houghtaylen told WSMV that residents have become increasingly concerned about violent crime in Nashville.
“The crime here in Nashville is getting really bad,” he said.
Houghtaylen added that he believes police need to do more to get illegal guns off the streets because of the number of shootings in the city.
The deadly U-Haul incident is one of several shocking workplace confrontations reported this year.
In another case in May, a police detective in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, was accused of pulling a gun on a fellow officer after the patrolman microwaved seafood inside a police station, filling the building with a strong odor.
Authorities did not say whether the gun was loaded.
Detective Michael Debiase, 46, was later fired and charged with a federal felony after allegedly pointing the weapon at his co-worker.
Myrtle Beach Police said the incident did not reflect the department’s values but showed that misconduct would be taken seriously.
“This incident does not reflect the values demonstrated by the men and women of the Myrtle Beach Police Department every day,” the department said.
“However, it does demonstrate our commitment to accountability. And our willingness to address conduct that falls short of our expectations.”
Debiase was booked into the J. Reuben Long Detention Center in Horry County and was later released without bail, according to public records.
Back in Nashville, Rice remains accused of criminal homicide as investigators continue to piece together exactly how a disagreement over a drink allegedly ended in a co-worker’s death.
RC cola by chance????