A federal grand jury indicted a Nashville man accused of shooting an 18-year-old six times on the steps of a WeGo bus station in May, according to the Middle District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Kenneth Johnson, 31, was arrested by Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers on May 16 after he allegedly shot the 18-year-old six times at the WeGo bus station located at the intersection of Rep John Lewis Way & MLK Jr Blvd.
After firing shots, Johnson (pictured above) allegedly ran from a MNPD officer and disposed of the gun before surrendering to law enforcement.
MNPD reported at the time that the shooting appeared to be drug-related, as cocaine and marijuana were recovered at the scene.
While Johnson was previously charged by federal criminal complaint, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee Henry C. Leventis announced Friday that Johnson was federally indicted for the unlawful possession of ammunition for the May shooting.
“According to the indictment, a Metropolitan Nashville Police Department officer was in the area when the shooting occurred. Shortly after hearing the gunshots, the officer saw a man, later identified as Johnson, holding a pistol and running away from the area. The officer gave chase and witnessed Johnson throw the pistol to the ground as he continued to run,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a press release.
“A short distance later, Johnson laid down on the ground and was arrested. Officers recovered the pistol which was loaded with five rounds of ammunition and a high-capacity magazine which contained forty-nine rounds of ammunition,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office added.
Johnson’s case is being investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (AFT) and MNPD while Assistant U.S. Attorney Juliet Aldridge is prosecuting the case.
The May 16 shooting prompted Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell to request a full safety review of WeGo, the city’s public transportation service, just one month after announcing his transit plan focused on expanding bus services.
O’Connell’s multi-billion dollar transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” would allocate tax dollars to expand WeGo’s services through additional bus routes and bus stations through a half-cent increase of the city’s sales tax.
The mayor’s transit plan was unanimously approved by the Metro Nashville Council earlier this week, paving the way for the plan to be presented to Nashville voters via ballot referendum in November.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
