Nashville Chief’s Son, Wanted in Shooting of Two Officers, Is Found Dead

The Nashville police chief’s estranged son, who was recently identified as a suspect in the shooting of two police officers outside a Dollar General store in La Vergne, Tenn., was found dead on Tuesday night, officials said.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said in a statement late Tuesday that John Drake Jr. had died in Nashville from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Officers in La Vergne, Tenn., about 20 miles southeast of Nashville, had been investigating a stolen vehicle on Saturday afternoon when they confronted Mr. Drake, who, according to the police, then shot the two officers with a handgun, hitting one in the shoulder and the other in the groin and forearm, before fleeing.

The authorities then initiated a search for Mr. Drake and issued a shelter-in-place order, which they lifted Saturday night.

Chief John Drake of the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said in a statement on Saturday that the suspect in the shooting was his son, adding that the two had had “very minimal contact over many years.”

“Despite my efforts and guidance in the early and teenage years, my son, John Drake Jr., now 38 years old, resorted to years of criminal activity and is a convicted felon,” Chief Drake said on Saturday. “He now needs to be found and held accountable for his actions today.”

The younger Mr. Drake was wanted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for two counts of attempted first-degree murder, and the agency offered a reward of up to $2,500 for information leading to his capture.

The injured officers, Ashley Boleyjack and Gregory Kern, were at home recovering after receiving treatment at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Chief Christopher Moews of the La Vergne Police Department said in a video posted on Facebook.

“The La Vergne community and our heroic officers can rest easy tonight knowing that the manhunt for John Drake Jr. is over,” Chief Moews said in a statement on Tuesday.