Natalie Neysa Alund

The Tennessean

NASHVILLE — An argument about getting out of bed led a teenage boy to open fire Tuesday on four family members, including his grandmother and two young children, police said.

Officers responded at 7:17 a.m. CT to a report of an active shooting and shut down several roads in the area.

"There was a quarrel about getting up and getting ready for the day when (at some point) the 16-year-old ran to a closet, got a 9 mm handgun and started firing," said Kris Mumford, Nashville police spokeswoman.

Bullets struck the teen's 67-year-old grandmother twice. His 12-year-old sister and 6-year-old nephew were struck at least once each; the teen's nephew is his older sister’s son, Mumford said.

Schizophrenic son attacked family, relatives say

The teen's grandmother was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center where she is expected to recover. The two children were being treated at Vanderbilt's children's hospital, and no one else was injured.

But the teen, whose name was not released, also attempted to shoot his 42-year-old mother in the living room. Mumford said the woman ducked behind a couch to avoid being hit, and the boy's 2-year-old sister was not shot at.

The teen then fled and tossed the gun at a nearby apartment, the police spokeswoman said. Several nearby schools, including one polling place in the Super Tuesday primaries, were placed on lockdown as police searched for the teen.

Teen girl charged with killing 13-year-old

Police eventually recovered the handgun and captured the teen walking near railroad tracks in the area. He was charged in Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County Juvenile Court with four counts of attempted homicide and one count of reckless endangerment.

The teen's family members told officers they were not aware the firearm was in a closet, Mumford said. Investigators plan to test the gun to track where it came from.

“Fortunately these were non life-threatening injuries," Mumford said. "These are disturbing actions as the community as a whole is addressing youth violence. It’s going to take all of us working together to try and dissuade people from using this kind of violence."

12-year-old charged with murder after Neb. park shooting

The boy attends an alternative school, Mumford said. Although he has a misdemeanor arrest history, his record does not include violent crime.

Follow Natalie Neysa Alund on Twitter: @nataliealund