Man charged after gas station machete attack in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A man has been charged after attempting to strike a gas station employee with a machete in McFerrin Park, according to the Metro Police Department.

According to court documents, Isaiah Williams, 34, entered a Z Mart gas station on Dickerson Pike on Oct. 7. Officers were called to the scene around 9 p.m., where they were met by the store manager who claimed Williams had assaulted and threatened him with a machete.

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The incident reportedly began when Williams brought a few items to the register, and a verbal altercation broke out with the manager. Williams then pushed the other man, picked up the items and ran out of the store.

The manager reportedly told police he knew Williams because of previous encounters in the gas station. Documents stated he had “caused issues in the store” before.

Surveillance video showed the manager running after him. Williams then removed a “large machete” from his pants, documents state. He reportedly waited for the manager to approach him before raising the weapon as if he were going to strike.

The manager opened the door and threw a can at Williams before pulling the front door shut. Williams charged at him with the machete before striking the closed door and shattering the glass, officials said.

Williams was captured on surveillance video leaving the scene in a vehicle registered to his name with another person in the passenger seat.

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Officers tracked Williams to the address listed on his registration. When they arrived, they heard from a witness who said Williams had run away on foot just before officers got to the door, documents said.

The witness was identified as the passenger in Williams’s vehicle at the gas station, police said. They told police Williams was upset because he believed the manager had accused him of stealing.

Williams was booked into Metro jail on Oct. 21 and remains detained on a $35,000 bond.

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