Woman accused of shooting homeless man who asked her to move Porsche
An aspiring country music singer and rapper has been charged with attempted murder after shooting a homeless man who she says threatened her life during a late night row in Nashville.
News outlets report 26-year-old Katie Quackenbush was charged Monday night in the August 26 shooting of 54-year-old Gerald Melton near Music Row.
Police say Melton asked Quackenbush to move the SUV because its exhaust fumes and loud music were impairing his ability to sleep.
Police say that after shouting at one another, Melton retreated but Quackenbush got out of her $60,000 Porsche Cayenne and fired two shots at him, wounding him in the stomach.
When asked whether his daughter heard Melton scream or indicate he had been shot, Jesse Quackenbush said there was no indication he was injured.
The 54-year-old shooting victim is still hospitalized at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center with critical injuries.
Quackenbush moved to Nashville from her native Texas to "like a lot of people", pursue a career in country music, her father said.
'The next day they're hearing in the news that police are looking for two blonde females who shot a homeless man, ' Mr. Quackenbush continued.
Jesse Quackenbush, Katie's dad, recounts the narrative of the shooting in an unexpected way. "She didn't realize that she hit him".
She was set up for imprison around 6 p.m. Monday and given a $25,000 bond. He also claimed Melton threatened to kill the women.
He told officers that his shooter got back into the vehicle and then left the scene. When Melton walked away, Quackenbush escorted her friend from the Porsche, bringing her firearm with her for safety. She grabbed her gun and put a magazine inside.
Melton allegedly began walking toward her again, Jesse said, at which time his daughter told Melton she had a gun.
'She ran back to the vehicle and left with her friend, ' her father said.
"She has a son", Jesse Quackenbush said.
"She didn't try and kill this guy", Jesse Quackenbush said Monday night, a few hours after his daughter was arrested on the charge.
Both Quackenbush and her friend left for dinner following the altercation, but when they returned to the Porsche it had turned into a crime scene.
Jesse said his little girl got a lawyer and in the long run handed herself over for addressing by police.
Quackenbush, who eventually turned herself in, is slated to appear in court October 6.