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BLOUNTVILLE, Tenn. — A longtime Sullivan County deputy was shot and in serious condition late Saturday, and a Blountville man was dead after law enforcement responded to a home on a welfare check earlier in the day.

“This is a very tragic day for us,” an emotional Sullivan County Sheriff Jeff Cassidy said during a news conference Saturday evening. “It’s a very stressful day.”

At about 7:25 a.m. Saturday, the department received a request from individuals to check the welfare of 44-year-old Jackie Scott Pendergrass. The man lived in a home in the 3600 block of U.S. Highway 11W, not far from state Route 394 and the Dollar General store.

The sheriff did not say why officers were asked to check on Pendergrass.

Cassidy said police had been to the residence just three times in the past, only investigating two burglaries in 2011 and a disturbance in 2013.

At some point while officers approached the house, a single-story residence along a creek, Cassidy said Pendergrass fired at least one shot.

“The officers then retreated toward cover,” Cassidy said.

Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Public Information Officer Leslie Earhart said Pendergrass retreated and barricaded himself inside the home.

A short time later, Pendergrass began firing at officers again, Earhart said. Deputies returned fire.

During the exchange of gunfire, Deputy Steve Hinkle, a 65-year-old veteran at the Sheriff’s Office, was struck by gunfire.

Hinkle, who suffered serious injuries, was transported to a local unidentified hospital, where he remained Saturday night. No details about how many times he was shot or the extent of his injuries were released.

Multiple officers were on scene when Hinkle was shot.

“They were sort of pinned down at that one point,” Cassidy said. “Thankfully, we did get Officer Hinkle out of anymore harm’s way, which takes a lot of effort when someone is actively shooting.”

After Hinkle was shot, a large number of law enforcement agencies responded, including officers from the Carter County Sheriff’s Office, Kingsport Police Department, Bristol Tennessee Police Department, Bluff City Police Department, Hawkins County Sheriff’s Office, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Authorities shut down a portion of U.S. Highway 11W and state Route 394 as police attempted to apprehend the individual.

“Numerous attempts were made to negotiate with Mr. Pendergrass, which were unsuccessful,” Cassidy said.

Various local tactical team officers, the hazardous device unit from Bristol, K9 officers and other specialized officers were called to the scene in attempts to resolve the standoff.

Loud unspecified banging noises could be heard for several hours, likely the sound of officers attempting to take the man into custody.

“After several hours, entry was made into the residence and the suspect was found deceased,” Cassidy said.

It was not yet known late Saturday how Pendergrass died. No one else was at the home, and there were no other injuries.

With the situation resolved, agents from the TBI took over the investigation to determine what happened. The TBI investigates when there is an officer-involved shooting.

“This remains an active and ongoing investigation, as TBI special agents and forensic scientists continue to work to gather any and all relevant interviews and evidence,” Earhart said. “As in any case, TBI’s investigative findings will be shared with the district attorney general throughout the process.”

Representatives from District Attorney General Barry Staubus’ office were on scene Saturday.

Pendergrass has no known previous criminal history.

“He wasn’t very well known to the criminal justice system,” Cassidy said. “He wasn’t very well known to the officers. Whatever led up to this, of course, is under further investigation.”

An online records check revealed Pendergrass has no criminal history in Sullivan County, but had one civil case from the 1990s.

Although special agents remained on scene for much of the day and yellow caution tape surrounded the property, damage to the home could be seen from the roadway. Some sort of projectile appears to have been lodged through the front window, where holes could be seen in the glass.

Ruby Barnett, who lives on Hines Road behind Dollar General, said she heard multiple gunshots fired around 9 a.m. as she was making breakfast for her five granddaughters.

She said at first she thought the shots were fireworks, but she quickly determined they weren’t when she looked out her window and saw several Sheriff’s Office vehicles in the Dollar General parking lot and along U.S. Highway 11W. Barnett said she also had heard sirens before the gunshots, but didn’t think anything of it since sirens are common in that busy area of 11W. She said she thought the store had been robbed.

“We’ve been terrified all morning,” Barnett said on Saturday afternoon. “I knew something was wrong. I started locking doors and getting the girls in safe places.”

Barnett said she told her granddaughters to stay away from the windows and paced her house all day looking outside to make sure no one was on her property. At one point, she said she saw two SWAT team officers on the property next to hers.

Later in the day, a TBI agent came to Barnett’s house to ask if she had seen or heard anything, or if she had surveillance cameras outside her home, which is on a hill overlooking 11W.

“He [TBI agent] was very shaken,” she said. “I felt sorry for him.”

Barnett said she’s lived in her home for 10 years, and nothing like Saturday’s events had ever happened.

Donald and Vickie Rodefer, who also live on Hines Road, said they didn’t know anything had happened until their son called and said he had seen news reports that there had been a shooting nearby, which is when they looked outside and saw police. They didn’t know who was currently living in the house, but Donald Rodefer said at one time his great aunt lived there.

A man, who lives next door but didn’t want to be named, said he didn’t hear any gunshots or see anything prior to seeing police along state Route 394 and Reedy Creek Lane at 10 a.m. He thought there had been a wreck, so he asked officers who told him the area was under active lockdown, and he needed to go inside and lock his doors.

A man who lives on Reedy Creek Lane, who also didn’t want to be named, said police parked along his road Saturday morning. Officers didn’t tell him why they were there, but told him to stay inside, he said.

Jackie Dunn, who lives nearby on Rodefer Drive, said she didn’t know anything had happened until her sister, who lives next door, called at 8:30 Saturday morning about a large police presence in the area. That’s when she looked outside and saw several police cars.

“We’ve lived here 10 years, and that’s the first time I’ve ever seen anything like that,” she said.

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