Tennessee deputy injured in shooting; suspect in custody

Carter County Sheriff Dexter Lunceford told reporters Kelly Pitts of Hickory, N.C., was armed when he was found by deputies in the cave, but was taken into custody without incident.

According to Lunceford, he and three deputies responded to a call Wednesday evening reporting a drunken man waving around a gun.

A suspect in a Wednesday night shooting in Carter County was captured early Thursday morning. He says he and the others returned fire. She was flown to Johnson City Medical Center for treatment.

Deputies recovered an AK-47 assault rifle, two other rifles and two pistols from the scene. Lunceford reported that she was doing well, as the bullets apparently had not entered her skull.

Another woman injured in the shootout was one of Pitts’ neighbors, Brandy Hyder, who suffered a gunshot wound to her hand.

Elizabethton-Carter County 911 confirmed that Dry Hollow Road has been closed by sheriff’s office deputies.

Lunceford said they are still in the preliminary stages of the investigation and said they have no motive at this time.