A 55-year-old Frito-Lay employee was killed in a horrifying freak shooting after a bullet fired during an argument outside a Nashville lounge traveled through the wall of a nearby Sam’s Club and struck him in the head while he worked.
Paris Carlock, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, was conducting a product inventory in the store’s chip aisle shortly after 4 a.m. Sunday when the bullet pierced a metal exterior wall and traveled into the middle of the store, according to the Metro Nashville Police Department.
Carlock had no apparent connection to the dispute outside.
Sam’s Club employees immediately rushed to help him after he was struck. He was transported to a local hospital but was later pronounced dead.
The tragedy came just before Carlock was supposed to meet his newborn grandson for the first time.
His daughter, Kayla Carlock, told FOX 17 News she had planned to travel to Nashville over the holiday weekend with her 6-week-old son so her father could finally meet him.
“My father is like my best friend. We talk every day,” Kayla said. “I was coming down here this weekend to let my son meet him.”
Instead, the family is now mourning a man Kayla described as the person who held them all together.
She pleaded with whoever was responsible for the gunfire to surrender to police.
“They really need to turn themselves in and just know that they completely broke our family, especially of the person who was the closest to all of us,” she said.
Kayla remembered her father as a humble, well-liked man who seemed to make friends everywhere he went.
“Normally when I’m on the phone with him, sometimes there’s workers in the background talking to him and [they’re] always happy to see him,” she said. “He is a very humble man. He meant the world to everyone.”
Police believe the deadly gunfire stemmed from an argument that began inside Lavo Lounge, located down the street from the Sam’s Club on Antioch Pike.
According to investigators, people involved in the confrontation were removed from the lounge by security. But the dispute allegedly continued outside.
As multiple vehicles began leaving the area, gunshots rang out.
One of those bullets traveled far enough to penetrate the metal wall of the Sam’s Club and strike Carlock as he worked in the chip aisle.
Sam’s Club said it was cooperating with investigators following the shocking incident.
“We are heartbroken by this incident, and our thoughts are with those impacted. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement as they investigate,” a company spokesperson told FOX 17.
PepsiCo, Frito-Lay’s parent company, also issued a statement mourning Carlock.
“We are deeply saddened by the passing of one of our colleagues. Our sincere condolences are with their family members and loved ones. We have been working closely with law enforcement and local officials regarding the matter,” the company told News 2.
The Metro Nashville Police Department is continuing to investigate and is asking anyone with information about the shooting or the vehicles involved to come forward.
The bullet travelled half a block, went thru a metal wall and then killed the man? What was it, a 50 BMG?