A Tennessee man is facing charges after he allegedly opened fire on a family sledding in the snow, claiming the family was on his property.
Benjamin Cook faces six charges of aggravated assault in connection with the shooting. According to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office.
Additional charges may be filed pending the outcome of the investigation.
The sheriff’s office said officers responded Friday to the 6300 block of Stoney River Drive after a report of a man shooting at a family of six playing outside in the snow.
Preliminary information at the scene indicated that the parents and their four children were walking down the street to sled down a hill in their neighborhood, officers said.
But around 11:30 a.m., the family said they heard gunshots coming from the direction of a house on the hill near the 10400 block of Birchwood Pike.
The mother said she saw snow flying out of the ground just a few feet from her one-year-old son.
Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office / Facebook
The parents immediately looked in the direction the shots were coming from and yelled at a man, later identified as Cook, to stop shooting.
The man claimed the family was on his property, but the family responded that they were not on his property.
The family then gathered their belongings and went home before reporting the incident to authorities.
Officers went to the shooter’s home and spoke with Cook.
They also received photos from a neighbor showing Cook wearing matching clothes walking through the woods with a black rifle strapped to his back.
Cook was subsequently arrested on charges of aggravated assault.
Investigation also revealed that the family was not on Cook’s property when he started shooting.
A search warrant was served on Cook’s home, where several guns were found inside.
