Armed Commissioner comes face to face with alleged mall shooting suspect

On Wednesday, Knox County Commissioner Greg "Lumpy" Lambert went to Knoxville Center Mall to get some dental work finished.

While he was in the mall, he could hear panic and commotion.

"People were running from the interior of the mall screaming 'someone's been shot'," Lambert said.

Commissioner Lambert is known for his advocacy for the right to bear arms and the fact he exercises his right by carrying a concealed weapon. He is a carry permit holder.

Lambert told 10 News he saw uniformed guards responding to the gunshots. "I noticed the security guards were not armed, and so I followed and went with the security guards in case I could be of assistance."

Armed with a handgun, Lambert saw a man holding a firearm at his side at Reno Menswear. "I basically encountered the suspect and witnessed he was armed and very agitated."

The commissioner called the Knox County Sheriff and gave him a description of the suspect and his location. "He called me back a few minutes later and said 'KPD's on the way' and I said they've just arrived and he said 'back off', which is the appropriate thing for a civilian to do.

In the moments that followed, Lambert said he witnessed officers facing a deadly foe."Their speed and professionalism probably saved lives. I was close enough to where I could not only hear the shots, I could also hear the sound of the shell casings hitting the ground. I could smell the gunpowder, the smokeless propellant."

Lambert owns several firearms and trains regularly on safety and precision. However, he felt officers were much better qualified to handle the life-threatening circumstances. "It wasn't paper targets they were shooting at. There was a suspect shooting back and just being in that close proximity to it was a tense and volitile situation."

Although Lambert is passionate about an American's right to carry a gun, he doesn't believe it should be a person's first option. "A person should use their firearm to defend their life when they have to, but if they don't have to, it's best to use that cell phone.

The county official said the mall shooting as well as the church and school shooting from earlier this year are signs of desperate times. "As a society, we need to be addressing security, and these are stressful times, and folks act in ways they wouldn't normally do during stressful times," Lambert said.

This is the second time Commissioner Lambert has faced an armed suspect. In 2006, an armed robber allegedly confronted Lambert. Lambert pulled his gun and held Kane Stackhouse until police arrived. Officers said Stackhouse had killed a Walgreen's driver hours before his confrontation with Lambert.

Wednesday's shooting brought back the emotions from that dangerous night. "I got to thinking about Joy Lindsey, the victim her husband was the first victim of Kane Stackhouse, and it was like, man, these things keep happening so close to me, and it's just really sad to see the tragedy," Lambert remembered.

Lambert is struggling with the emotions of both events, but he has the support of a local minister and a growing faith. "It's a time to reflect and just thank the Lord that I'm still here and thank the Lord that as bad as the situation was, that it was contained.

The county commissioner hopes to thank the two police officers who responded to the shooting at Knoxville Center Mall.

The KPD officers, Sgt. Darrell Griffin and Officer Tyler Wylie, are both on paid leave pending an investigation. This follows standard operating procedure for any officer-involved shooting. During a news conference on Wednesday, KPD spokesperson Darrell DeBusk said their preliminary investigation shows both officers acted appropriately to stop the threat facing them.