NASHVILLE, TENNESEE — A woman and her father were shot by her estranged husband in Antioch Monday afternoon, leaving her in extremely critical condition.
According to Metro police, the woman had a protection order against 27-year-old James Leggett, whom she had married in 2020 but since separated from. Leggett spent the day calling and texting his ex and went to her cousin’s house looking for her.
Police say he eventually showed up at her parent’s house on Vanna Court, where she was staying. She saw him outside of the home with a handgun, and according to the arrest warrant, locked herself in her parent’s bedroom and called 911.
Before officers could arrive, Leggett kicked in the front door, found the trio in the bedroom, and apologized for putting her through “this” – then he opened fire on them.
The woman was shot in the chest and leg and suffered “extremely critical” injuries. She was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center and underwent surgery there. Her father, who was reportedly asleep at the time of the shooting, was shot in the jaw and hand, but his wounds were not critical. The woman’s mother was unharmed.
After the home invasion and shooting, the suspect fled into a wooded area where he eventually surrendered to police. He later told officers that he had used his father’s .38 revolver and had hid it in the woods before showing them it’s location on Google Maps. He was booked into the Metro jail and charged with attempted criminal homicide, stalking, felony possession of a handgun, aggravated burglary, and aggravated assault.
Protection orders have their place and purpose – they are legal documents which put an individual on notice to stay away from another. Unfortunately, they aren’t very effective at physically keeping the person on notice from attacking the endangered person, nor are they a means of self-defense against physical attacks.
