MURFREESBORO, TN – A fresh perspective on a deadly police shooting in Tennessee has been unveiled through bodycam footage. The video depicts a police officer fatally shooting a man who, according to authorities, had attempted to rob an armored car employee and subsequently threatened the officer with two knives.
The drama unfolded on Wednesday morning around 9:15 a.m., when the Murfreesboro Police Department was alerted to an attempted robbery at an ATM. The alleged perpetrator, 44-year-old Steven James Murphy, is said to have tried to rob an employee in the process of refilling the ATM with cash.
The employee, however, managed to draw a gun on Murphy, causing him to flee into a nearby deli, as relayed by Murfreesboro Police spokesperson Larry Flowers.
As depicted in the bodycam footage, Officer Adam Claiborne entered the deli and found Murphy behind the counter. Murphy, upon seeing the officer, reportedly lunged at him with two knives raised above his head.
Claiborne is seen in the footage commanding Murphy to drop his weapons before firing his gun multiple times. Murphy was later taken to a hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
The incident, now under scrutiny by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, left the officer, the armored car worker, and six deli employees unscathed.