BARTLETT, Tenn. — Residents of a quiet Bartlett neighborhood woke up to loud noise Friday morning.
When they came outside to see what was happening, they saw vehicles and men with guns surrounding a house on Wasser Cove. Tire marks were left on the ground, the result of an FBI armored vehicle driving through the grass.
The FBI has not responded for comment, so we don’t know the exact details of why they were there, but we spoke with a neighbor who witnessed it all.
He says he was woken up around 7:30 by several flash bangs going off at his neighbor’s house. When he looked outside, he saw several officials in military-style gear with guns drawn, making their way toward the house next door.
“It sounded like an automatic weapon at first, just pop pop pop pop pop. And it was everybody out there shooting and it kind of scared us. You expect to see holes in your windows. But we didn’t,” he said.
The neighbor, who wishes to remain anonymous for safety reasons, says the whole thing was terrifying.
“I looked in my cameras and I seen the big rut in my yard, so I went outside and they said, ‘Get back in your house!’ So I went back in and next thing I know, they’re coming up here telling me that they got who they wanted,” the neighbor said.
The neighbor says at least 15 people were taken from the home during the FBI raid, along with multiple vehicles and boxes of belongings from inside.
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The witness said he didn’t know his neighbors well, but says they rented the house, and several people lived in there, including children.
“They have their parties, every Monday and Friday and sometimes Saturdays, but they always have a big party. Always,” he said. “And it runs up and down the street. We don’t say much about it because we don’t want to cause any trouble.”
He said he hopes this is the end of the trouble.
“I know we’ve got a lot of kids in this neighborhood and it’s just not safe like that.” he said. “And I’m just glad it’s pretty much over with now.”
We knocked on the door of the home where this all happened, but no one answered. Later on, we saw two people step outside for a moment.
We’ve reached out to the FBI for more information, and are still waiting for a response.
The neighbor said the FBI told him they would pay for damage to his lawn from the armored vehicle.