Nashville police said they received a report of an active shooter at 2:23 p.m. When they responded to the mall they did not find an active shooter.
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Police said an altercation between two to three people who knew each other escalated from verbal to pushing and shoving, and that someone pulled a gun and at least two shots were fired.
The shooting victim was very critically injured and taken to Skyline Medical where he died.
Police said the suspect fled the mall to a ticket booth where they sell Opry tickets. Police said the suspect entered the ticket booth, put his gun on the counter, and told the man in the ticket booth he "wanted no more trouble" and to call 911.
The man staffing the ticket booth was a retired California police officer; he told the suspect to go outside and lay on the ground as police responded. He was taken into custody without incident.
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Nashville police identified the suspected shooter and the dead man as 22-year old local men.
Investigators said the suspected shooter in custody is Justin Golson, 22, of Antioch, Tennessee. They said the dead man has been identified as Demarco Churchwell of Nashville.
The nearby Opryland Hotel was placed on a lockdown as a precaution.