A Knoxville man has been arrested after an alleged shooting incident that occurred early Tuesday morning that resulted in him shooting himself in the leg. 

According to court records, on Tuesday at approximately 2:12 am, an uninvolved third party witness reported to the Marion County Dispatch Center that they had Ring doorbell footage of a vehicle driving by their residence discharging a firearm several times at approximately 1:50 am. A Knoxville Police officer returned a phone call to the witness and obtained a copy of the video footage. In the video, the officer observed a vehicle traveling north in the 1400 block of N Grant Street. An individual in the front passenger’s seat of the vehicle is accused of discharging a firearm out of the front passenger’s side window while the vehicle was traveling toward the intersection of Grant St. and Jackson St. Then, while at this intersection, the individual allegedly shot approximately four more times out of the window before the footage ended.

At 2:16 am, the Knoxville Emergency Room reported to the Marion County Dispatch Center that a patient was currently at the emergency room with a gunshot wound. The patient was identified as Payton Lee Cole Phillips. Through investigation, the officer spoke with a witness who was operating the vehicle, as seen in the Ring doorbell footage. The witness informed the officer  that Phillips was seated in the front passenger’s seat of the vehicle and discharged a handgun approximately five times out of the front passenger’s side window in a “random act of violence.” The witness then informed the officer that after these 4-5 shots, a negligent discharge occurred where Phillips shot himself in his leg. The bullet entered Phillips exterior left thigh area and exited slightly below the entrance wound.

Officers located a Glock 43X in the vehicle, which was identified as the handgun used. Police also located two additional loaded magazines in the vehicle and a medium-sized black container that was positioned under the front passenger’s seat. This black container allegedly contained 8.3 grams of raw marijuana flower, in addition to a used marijuana grinder. Additionally, officers located a spent 9mm brass shell casing in the parking lot of the emergency room, in addition to three spent 9mm brass shell casings at the intersection of Grant St. and Jackson St. The spent shell casings matched the brand and caliber of the unspent shell casings located in the vehicle.

 

A residence in the 1400 block of N Grant St. had a bullet hole through one of the front facing windows. This bullet hole broke the exterior pane of glass of the window, but not the interior pan. This residence was occupied by multiple individuals. Video footage allegedly shows that Phillips fired a round while near or in front of this residence. The officer attempted to interview Phillips while in the emergency room, in which they claim he had a strong odor of alcoholic beverages emitting from his breath when he spoke. 

Phillips is charged with intimidation with a dangerous weapon, three charges of reckless use of a firearm, carrying a weapon while intoxicated, dangerous weapon used in crime, person ineligible to carry a dangerous weapon, possession of marijuana first offense, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Phillips is being held in the Marion County Jail on an $18,000 bond and is due in court for a preliminary hearing on May 15th.