MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The investigation continues into a deputy-involved shooting in Bartlett that killed a woman over the weekend.
There are still a lot of questions about exactly what happened when a Shelby County Sheriff’s deputy spotted a car driven by 43-year-old Melissa Horton near the intersection at Ellis Road and Golden Valley Lane in Bartlett Saturday.
We know gunshots were fired and Horton died at the scene. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is now investigating since a deputy was involved.
“For reasons still unknown, as officers approached the vehicle, shots were fired and the driver was struck,” said Keli McAlister with the TBI. “The female driver who was the only one in the vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scene.”
Horton’s father told us he spoke to her shortly before the shooting, but he didn’t want to say anything else. He did say that he is just waiting for answers.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said Horton was involved in a domestic altercation with her fiancé at a home near Somerville earlier in the day. They said she pulled a gun, hit her fiancé with it, and left.
It’s unclear why Horton ended up in the Bartlett area or exactly what happened when Shelby County Sheriff’s deputies spotted her car and tried to stop her.
“There was information about the vehicle and tag number. Deputies spotted this vehicle in Shelby County and then pulled it over in this area,” McAlister said.
No one is saying if she had a gun with her and whether she pointed it at or fired at any officer. All of that is under investigation.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office said the deputies involved in the shooting have been routinely relieved of duty with pay as the investigation continues.
No deputies were hurt during the altercation.
The Fayette County Sheriff’s Office said the only prior involvement they had with Melissa Horton involved a DUI last summer.
