At the request of 4th Judicial District Attorney General James Dunn, TBI agents are investigating the circumstances leading to an officer-involved shooting that occurred Friday morning in Newport.

Just before after 6:00 a.m., officers with the Newport Police Department received a report that the driver of a white car was in the area of East Broadway pointing a handgun at a female passenger and waving the weapon out the window. The driver was identified as Gary Ball (DOB 1/31/87). Upon the arrival of officers, Ball refused to stop, and a pursuit ensued. Preliminary information indicates that while traveling along E Highway 25/70. Ball fired shots at Cocke County deputies who were assisting with the pursuit. He then continued to drive along E Highway 25/70, making numerous turns. Just before 6:30, near the intersection of Blazer Street and North Street, Ball fired shots at officers with the Newport Police Department, resulting in officers returning fire. No one was struck. According to reports from the scene, Ball then fired at least one more shot in the direction of a pedestrian. The pursuit continued until Ball reached Fairview Street. At that point, he got out of the vehicle and ran from the area. Just after 1:00 p.m., Gary Ball was located by authorities at a vacant home in the area of Missionary Ridge Road. He was taken into custody without incident.

At this time, the investigation remains active and ongoing. TBI agents are working to independently determine the series of events leading to the shooting, including collecting evidence and conducting interviews. Throughout the process, investigative findings will be shared with the District Attorney General for his further review and consideration. The TBI acts solely as factfinders in its cases and does not determine whether the actions of an officer were justified in these types of matters. That decision rests with the District Attorney General requesting TBI’s involvement.

The TBI does not identify the officers involved in these types of incidents and instead refers questions of that nature to the respective department to answer as it sees fit.

Any available updates on this investigation will be posted online at TBINewsroom.com.