Buchanan
Phillip Lawrence Buchanan, 58, of Franklin was arrested June 23 after firing shots toward a delivery truck behind Walmart in Franklin.
Officers were dispatched to the store on Commons Drive at 12:15 a.m. According to Franklin Police Chief Bill Harrell, Buchanan was firing rounds from a 30/30 hunting rifle. The employees who were unloading the truck took cover inside the store, which went into lockdown procedures. The store had closed for business at 11 p.m.
Buchanan fled the scene in a vehicle as Franklin Police Department officers and Macon County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived. Harrell said FPD officers intercepted Buchanan’s car a short distance from Walmart, leading officers on a chase. A Macon County deputy deployed stop sticks, disabling Buchanan’s car which came to a stop in the parking lot of Mountain View Intermediate School. No casualties or injuries were reported related to the incident.
During a search of Buchanan’s car, officers found several long guns, hunting rifles and assault rifles with ammunition.
He faces charges of fleeing/alluding arrest with a motor vehicle, two counts of assault by pointing a gun, two felony counts of discharging a weapon into an occupied vehicle, and two counts of discharging a firearm inside the city limits. He is being held at the Macon County Detention Center under a $200,000 secured bond.
“Many thanks to all the quick-thinking, selfless and heroic actions of law enforcement and civilians to prevent further chaos and tragedy,” Harrell said.