According to a Crossville Police report, on April 2, 2026, at approximately 9:30 a.m., Detective Lorenz of the Crossville Police Department was dispatched to the Ace Hardware store on Sparta Highway in Crossville, after reports of a Hispanic male in turquoise shorts outside the store with a rifle following a verbal argument. Upon arrival, witnesses directed the detective to the lumber yard, where the suspect was observed yelling angrily. He was ordered to the ground, initially dropping only to his knees before being assisted down and handcuffed.

Once detained, he began yelling at another male subject, leading to mutual accusations involving the second male’s wife. The suspect claimed he had been threatened by the wife inside the store earlier, prompting him to go home, pray, retrieve a gun (or ammunition), and return armed out of fear for his life. He admitted retrieving a loaded .22 caliber rifle from his truck’s toolbox in the lumber yard after the wife followed him there, though he said he put it away when instructed by an employee.

The wife stated that the suspect initiated the argument inside the store, threatened to get his gun after she mentioned her husband was coming, and later pointed the rifle at her when she backed her vehicle toward him in the lumber yard. The husband reported arriving after his wife called about the threat but claimed he never saw the firearm himself; a loaded 9mm pistol was found on his person, which he said he carried for protection but never displayed. A store employee confirmed seeing the suspect retrieve and point the rifle at the wife before being told to put it away, while the store manager noted the suspect had initially defended an employee from the wife’s verbal abuse.

No arrests were made at the scene pending further investigation, as both parties wished to pursue charges against each other. Video from a nearby business captured some vehicle movements in the parking lot and lumber yard entrance but did not clearly show the pointing of the weapon.

The husband and wife were trespassed from the property at the store’s request. The rifle was seized with consent, and all parties were released. The case remains open for additional review, including retrieval of the exterior surveillance video.

As no persons have been officially charged as of yet, no names were used.