Five Men Jailed for Opening Fire on MNPD Detective Monday Night

Five men involved in shooting at an undercover TITANS Unit detective on Howerton Street near N. 6th Street just before 11 p.m. Monday night fired more than 30 rounds at him before running to a stolen Infiniti Q50 and fleeing Nashville on I-40 into Wilson County. Fortunately, Detective Chris Lawson was not injured and radioed information about the fleeing gunmen to other MNPD units, including a helicopter crew that was already in the air. The helicopter tracked the stolen Infiniti to Golden Bear Gateway and Volunteer Boulevard in Wilson County, where the five bailed out and ran into the woods. All five were subsequently apprehended with the assistance of the MNPD Canine Unit and Wilson County authorities.

A total of six guns were recovered after being tossed from the Infiniti in Wilson County: a Glock .40 caliber pistol that had been modified to make it a fully automatic weapon; a Glock 9 millimeter pistol that had been modified to make it fully automatic; two additional Glock 9 millimeter pistols, a Glock 10 millimeter pistol, and a Draco pistol that resembles a short rifle and fires rifle rounds. One of the nine millimeter pistols was stolen from an SUV parked on West End Avenue last July 17. Another of the 9 millimeter pistols was reported stolen in Louisville, Kentucky.

The five men arrested are identified as Eric O. Mario, 23, of Sanborn Drive, who drove the stolen Infiniti at a high rate of speed from Nashville into Wilson County; Ronny I. Edmonds, 19, of Jay Street; Mahamed M. Muganga, 18, of University Court; Abraham G. Mario, 19, of Galaxie Drive, and Omar A. Yussuf, 18, of N. 6th Street. All five are charged with multiple crimes, including aggravated assault on a first responder, using guns in the commission of a dangerous felony, auto theft, gun theft, felony marijuana possession, and evading arrest.

Detective Lawson, as part of the TITANS (The Investigative Team Addressing Neighborhood Shootings) Unit’s precision policing mission, was conducting surveillance in the area of Howerton and N. 6th Streets after developing information that a person involved in a recent shooting was in that vicinity. He initially saw a group of men holding guns in a parking lot off N. 6th Street and drove his undercover police car down Howerton Street to turn around to get a better view. As he did, the men began walking toward him, split sides of the street, and began firing. Detective Lawson reported hearing bullets whiz by his vehicle as he immediately took evasive action to get out of the line of fire.

The police department will be talking with the United States Attorney’s Office about potential federal prosecution of the five.

Three minute helicopter video found at this link: Helicopter video on YouTube