Armed with shotgun, man held everyone in rest stop at gunpoint before fleeing into woods on foot: Police

Gregory James Daniel of North Carolina was arrested on July 14, 2024 (Tennessee Highway Patrol Cookeville).

A man allegedly armed with a shotgun who burst into a rest stop early Sunday morning in Tennessee and held those inside at gunpoint before fleeing into the woods on foot has been arrested.

Gregory James Daniel, 43, of Franklin, North Carolina, is charged with aggravated assault , reckless endangerment , making terroristic threats and evading arrest , according to a statement shared by the Tennessee Highway Patrol on July 14 on X.com.

Gregory James Daniel arrested on July 14, 2024 (Tennessee Highway Patrol).

Daniel is accused of holding people at gunpoint inside the Buffalo Valley rest area near Interstate 40 just after 5 a.m. on Sunday. When Smith County Sheriff’s officials responded to the scene along with police from nearby Gordonsville and Tennessee Highway Patrol officers, witnesses first reported that Daniels was still inside the visitor’s center, according to the Smith County Insider . An on-site security guard also told police that the man allegedly had a shotgun.

Police swept the building but did not locate Daniel. A Tennessee Highway Patrol officer later spotted the 43-year-old man a little over a mile from the Buffalo Valley rest stop when he was dispatched to help a motorist nearby, according to local ABC affiliate WKRN,

After being approached by police, Daniel allegedly fled on foot into the woods alongside the 1-40 highway. The Smith County Insider reported that officers found a shotgun in a vehicle parked on the side of 1-40 that belonged to Daniel. There was also a Beretta pistol in the vehicle, reports said.

As he fled, Tennessee Highway Patrol established a perimeter and a bloodhound unit from the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office was dispatched.

Daniel was not found until 3 p.m. on Sunday.

It is unclear if Daniel has retained an attorney and a Putnam County Sheriff’s spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.

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