BRIGHTON, Tenn. — A newly hired Dyersburg firefighter has been arrested for the murder of a woman at his Brighton home Thursday evening.
Brighton police say they and other local agencies went to a home on the 200 block of Gladman Street around 6:40 p.m. where they found a woman suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
She was taken to Baptist Memorial Hospital-Tipton, where she later died.
Raymond Cole McDaniel was charged with second-degree murder and possession of a firearm during a dangerous felony.
Tipton County District Attorney General Mark Davidson identified the victim as 31-year-old Stephanie Brown of Millington. It’s believed she and McDaniel were acquaintances, Davidson said, but police wouldn’t confirm that or provide a possible motive.
One of McDaniel’s neighbors told WREG that several children playing outside heard the shooting.
“They said that they heard people yelling and that there were gunshots and that someone had gotten shot. But it’s such a quiet neighborhood I kind of didn’t believe them,” she said.
Neighbors say McDaniel shared the home with his young son and fiancé – a woman WREG has confirmed is not Brown.
The Dyersburg Fire Department confirmed that Wednesday was McDaniel’ first and only day working for them. They say they referred the matter to human resources after learning of his arrest.
The Shelby County Fire Department confirms McDaniel once worked for them as a recruit but that he never made it out of the academy.
Not only was Thursday’s homicide Brighton’s first of the year, but police confirm it was the first homicide in at least 12 years.
“Been the chief since 2009 and this is the first homicide that we’ve had to work since I’ve been chief,” said Chief Mike Durham.