Police continue to search for the suspect who shot a man in the ankle in a state employee parking lot at 2:15 p.m. Monday.
Police were called to 604 Fourth Ave. N., across the street from where at least seven to eight shots were fired, apparently by just one shooter, in a parking lot behind the old Metro Credit Union and next to the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.
The victim, who police identified as 27-year-old Mario Woodard, told detectives he had tried to bail an acquaintance out of jail, when three men pulled up next to his car in an older model white car.
A passenger — described as a black man with dreadlocks and who is in his late 20s or early 30s — got out of the car and started shooting at Woodard.
Woodard crawled out of the passenger door and ran, but he was shot in the ankle as he ran. He was later treated for a minor wound at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Police believe Woodard was specifically targeted but the motive is still unknown at this time.
Central Precinct detectives interviewed two people stopped in a suspect vehicle in the North Precinct but did not have a suspect in custody, said Kris Mumford, police spokeswoman.
Woodard has a previous arrest history including convictions for robbery, felony escape and cocaine possession.
It was unclear if Woodard was related to the person he was trying to bail out of jail. He was told, however, that the person had not been completely processed and couldn’t yet post bond.