Man had AR-15 style rifle, ballistic armor on his roof amid vandalism spree, TN cops say

A sergeant with the Nashville International Airport Police went on a vandalizing spree in his own neighborhood, and it ended with the discovery of a high-powered rifle waiting on his roof, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.

It happened Monday night in the Hermitage area, northeast of Nashville, and investigators say the “AR-15 style rifle and ballistic armor” were found atop his home “next to a shattered window.”

The suspect was identified as Anthony Thomas, 48, and he was at Vanderbilt University Medical Center Wednesday being treated “for lacerations and other injuries resulting from breaking windows,” officials said in a news release.

Investigators say they have not found evidence Thomas fired the rifle found on the roof.

Police began to receive calls from the neighborhood around 10:35 p.m. Monday, when a woman on Brookmeadow Lane told police “someone was breaking out the windows” on multiple sides of her home.

“The resident was alone, retreated into a bedroom closet and armed herself with a pistol. She accidentally fired one shot,” officials said.

“The bullet went through the wall of her home and into a neighbor’s house opposite from Thomas’ location. No one was hurt.”

Three minutes later, a caller on nearby Remington Park Road reported “someone broke out a window and damaged a glass storm door before trying to enter the home through the front door,” officials said.

“That resident fired two shots as the door began to open. No one was hit,” according to the release.

Officers from the Hermitage Precinct found Thomas in a nearby front yard, “speaking erratically” and “bleeding from his arms and face,” officials said. It is suspected he was “experiencing a mental crisis,” officials said.

Thomas will be arrested after he is discharged from the hospital and charged with “felony vandalism, misdemeanor vandalism and attempted aggravated trespassing,” officials said.

This story was originally published September 8, 2021 at 4:38 PM with the headline "Man had AR-15 style rifle, ballistic armor on his roof amid vandalism spree, TN cops say."