Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
On Tuesday, November 12, 2024, Knoxville police officers confronted a tense and dangerous situation involving a man armed with an axe.
Just before 1:15 p.m., Knox County 9-1-1 received multiple reports of a man causing a disturbance on Fairview Street.
The individual, later identified as 52-year-old Christopher Arons, was armed with a small axe and allegedly behaving erratically.
Knoxville, TN🚔
— police.law.news (@policelawnews) November 23, 2024
•Disturbance call – man w/ an 🪓
•Officers made contact w/ the ax-man (Chris Arons).
•Officers gave commands to “drop” the weapon & he said, “I can’t”.
•Chris approached the officers & they both fired (3x).
Chris survived • Charged w/ Ag. Assault pic.twitter.com/lJER4CkieF
The Confrontation
Knoxville Police Officers Eric Smith and Alexandra Burns arrived minutes after the 9-1-1 calls. Officer Smith encountered Arons while walking down Fairview Street.
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With the axe still in Arons’ hand, Officer Smith raised his firearm and repeatedly commanded him to drop the weapon. Arons refused, responding, “I can’t” several times, and began walking toward Officer Smith.
As the situation escalated, both Officer Smith and Officer Burns discharged their weapons, firing three shots in total when Arons continued advancing with the axe.
Aftermath and Medical Assistance
After the shots were fired, officers immediately rendered medical aid to Arons until emergency personnel arrived.
Arons was transported to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, where he is expected to recover from his injuries.
Charges Filed
Following the incident, Arons was charged with two counts of aggravated assault and two counts of vandalism.
A Reminder of the Risks Law Enforcement Face
This incident underscores the challenges officers face in high-pressure situations where public safety is at risk. Thankfully, no officers or bystanders were harmed during the confrontation.
Knoxville Police Department’s quick response and adherence to protocol prevented the situation from escalating further. The case remains under investigation, and no additional details have been released at this time.
Stay tuned for updates as more information becomes available about this case.
[H/T: Police Activity]
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Nice for once the cops didn’t empty their mags on this obvious nut job. Guess if he was a different color it would have ended up different. And don’t tell me Im wrong. Just don’t know why all cops can’t do it like this when the nut has a knife, screwdriver, or pot of water. Gun, that’s a different story.
He knew what was coming. Attempted suicide by cop. He’s lucky that cop didn’t mag-dump him.
odd how the officers are required to render first aid, when the criminal will never be charged for not helping his victim….
How many hits out of the six shots though? Not to mention caliber and ammunition specifics.
3 shots total were fired….it’s in the article. Looks like at least 2 hit him. Personally, buckshot would’ve ended it right there
I see that now (3 total). I was looking at the earlier “both fired (3x)” thinking it was 3x each.
Yes, they traded the “optics” of shotguns for the optics of having to shoot more times for the same effectiveness a while ago. Unless they have time to get the “scary black rifle” out of the trunk.