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Truck stop evacuated for man who allegedly shot at moving semi, led police on pursuit

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A Tennessee man is facing a slew of charges after opening fire on a semi truck on Saturday, then leading police on a pursuit that ended with the man hiding in a freezer at a truck stop.

Police in Monterey, Tennessee, were alerted to an interstate shooting in Roane County at 11:10 p.m. on March 13.

A suspect in a gray Infiniti “had been involved in an aggravated assault” that “resulted in the driver of the gray Infinity firing a weapon at semi-truck and striking the door of the semi-truck while the driver was still driving down the interstate.”

Officers with the Monterey Police Department spotted the gray Infiniti on I-40 near exit 301.

When police tried to initiate a traffic stop, the suspect refused to pull over, leading to a police pursuit on westbound I-40.

The Putnam County Sheriff’s Department and the Tennessee Highway Patrol joined the pursuit.

Troopers deployed spike strips in Cookeville and were able to flatted two of the car’s tires.

The pursuit continued to Baxter, where the suspect left I-40 at exit 280. The suspect lost control of the Infiniti while turning onto Highway 56 and fled on foot into a Love’s Travel Center store.

The truck stop was evacuated and canine units were deployed by the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office into the building.

Officers eventually found the suspect hiding in a freezer in a McDonald’s restaurant inside the truck stop. He was arrested without further incident.

The suspect was identified as Nashville resident Xavier Waters.

Waters was charged with evading, possession of a stolen firearm, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, reckless endangerment, and driving on a revoked drivers license. He is also facing an aggravated assault charge in Roane County.

Police say that Waters also had warrants out of Knox County for felony aggravated assault with a handgun, felony kidnapping, felony aggravated burglary, domestic assault, and theft.

“Special thanks to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Department, Baxter Police Department, Cookeville Police Department, and the Tennessee Highway Patrol for the assistance in taking the suspect into custody. This is a great example of multiple law enforcement agencies working together to take a dangerous suspect off the streets,” the Monterey Police Department said in a news release.

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