Police said Paris Carlock was conducting inventory when a bullet from gunfire outside penetrated the store’s metal wall early Sunday.
NASHVILLE, TN — A 55-year-old Frito-Lay employee was fatally shot while working inside a South Nashville Sam’s Club early Sunday after a bullet fired outside the store pierced a metal wall and struck him, police said.
Metro Nashville Police identified the victim as Paris Carlock of Murfreesboro. Carlock was conducting a product inventory in the chip aisle in the middle of the Sam’s Club when he was struck shortly after 4 a.m. Sept. 6. Store employees rushed to help him, and he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Police said their investigation indicates the gunfire was connected to an argument that began inside Lavo Lounge, located down the street from the Sam’s Club on Antioch Pike. According to investigators, security removed people involved in the dispute from the lounge, and the argument reportedly continued outside.
Shots were heard as multiple vehicles were leaving the area, police said. At least one bullet traveled from Antioch Pike through the metal wall of the Sam’s Club and into the store. Police have described Carlock as an innocent victim and have not indicated that he had any connection to the dispute outside.
Homicide detectives are pursuing leads and working to determine who fired the shot that killed Carlock. As of Monday, police had not publicly announced an arrest or identified a shooter. Investigators have asked for information about both the gunfire and the vehicles that were leaving the area around the time shots were fired.
Carlock’s daughter, Kayla Carlock, told FOX 17 News that her father was loving, humble and someone relatives could depend on. “Anything that you can ever ask for, my dad will always be the person to call,” she said. She said the killing had devastated the family and that she had planned to bring her 6-week-old son to Nashville so he could meet his grandfather.
Sam’s Club said in a statement provided to FOX 17 that the company was heartbroken by the incident and was cooperating with law enforcement. PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay, also expressed condolences to Carlock’s family and loved ones and said it had been working with law enforcement and local officials.
The shooting occurred while Carlock was performing routine work well inside the store, rather than near the dispute police believe preceded the gunfire. The circumstances have left homicide investigators examining an incident that began at a separate business before a bullet entered the Sam’s Club and killed a person who police said was uninvolved.
Police said the homicide investigation remains active. No suspect had been publicly identified as of Monday, and detectives continued seeking information about the people and vehicles involved in the gunfire.
Author note: Last updated September 7, 2026.