Nashville South Precinct detectives this afternoon identified parolee Eric L. Caruthers Jr., 30, as the man who shot a youth football coach Saturday evening during a jamboree at Antioch High School. An arrest warrant charging Caruthers with felony aggravated assault has been issued.
The investigation shows that the coach had broken up a fight between players from his team and an opposing squad. Caruthers is alleged to have angrily approached the coach upset over the way he had intervened in the fight. Caruthers reportedly asked the coach to meet him beside the bleachers. Once there, Caruthers pulled a pistol and began shooting, causing a number of young football players nearby to run for safety. The coach was hit twice in his right leg.
Caruthers was convicted of felony aggravated assault in 2014 and received a 9-year prison sentence.
