Police: Burger King manager protected employees in deadly armed robbery attempt

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A Burger King employee is in critical condition and a robbery suspect is dead after a robbery attempt Monday night in Madison, police say.

Through his fingerprints, police identified the suspect killed in the confrontation as Kenneth Lamont Jernigan, 18, though his suspected cause of death wasn't immediately clear.

According to a statement from the Metro Nashville Police Department, Jernigan "was fatally wounded as he was tackled by and struggled with Burger King Manager Maurice Farris, 34," who was critically wounded by gunfire during the encounter.

At 11:33 p.m., three masked suspects, at least two of whom were armed, entered the back door of the Burger King at 2104 Gallatin Pike N., with Jernigan entering first, police said.

Farris "took immediate action and tackled Jernigan," the department reported, prompting the other two accomplices to flee from the restaurant in a white SUV.

"Farris’ actions, which put him in significant peril, prevented direct confrontations between the masked robbers and his employees," police said in a statement.

Ballistics testing is pending concerning the shots fired in the restaurant.

Jernigan was pronounced dead by Nashville Fire Department at the scene, while Farris was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he remains in critical condition.

Anyone with information on the identities of the two other masked suspects is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 615-742-7463 to qualify for a cash reward.

Reach Natalie Allison at nallison@tennessean.com and on Twitter at @natalie_allison.