NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Nashville police officer was shot Friday morning in the parking lot of a Dollar General store. The Nashville Metropolitan Police Department (NMPD) identified the officer as Josh Baker and said the incident unfolded around 9:30 a.m. when he attempted a traffic stop on a vehicle whose owner has six outstanding narcotic related arrest warrants, FOX17 Nashville reported.
Baker, a 14-year veteran of the department, underwent surgery at a local hospital after being struck in the torso. Nika Holbert, identified as the person behind the wheel who also was hit with gunfire, was taken to another medical facility and later was pronounced dead, according to police.
“Officer Baker approached the vehicle, learned that the owner of the car — the person with the outstanding warrants — was not the person driving and the situation devolved from there into a shootout,” Nashville police spokesperson Don Aaron told reporters.
Aaron said the 31-year-old woman behind the wheel, Holbert, opened fire and Baker returned fire, FOX reported.
Baker, a 14-year veteran of the department, underwent surgery at a local hospital after being struck in the torso. Holbert, who also was hit with gunfire, was taken to another medical facility and later was pronounced dead, according to police.
Update: The female shot, Nika Nicole Holbert, 31, has died at Skyline Medical Ctr. https://t.co/KS7YHlVSl3
— Metro Nashville PD (@MNPDNashville) March 12, 2021
“I know the Nashville community has Officer Baker in their thoughts and prayers as they do the other person involved here,” Aaron had told reporters.
Following the shooting, Holbert sped away from the scene and crashed the vehicle down an embankment, Aaron said.
The relationship between her and the owner of the vehicle is not immediately clear. Aaron said the Chevrolet Camaro she was driving has not been reported stolen.
Police also are reviewing footage from a body camera Baker was wearing.
Moreover, the police veteran has improved to stable condition, according to officials.