BLOUNT COUNTY, Tenn. — A Blount County shooting went viral nationally in January after new video surfaced, months after WBIR reported the incident.
Shooting victim Kyle Spitze told Law and Crime Network that he released the video -- which he took himself with his cellphone -- on social media last month.
"I've been talking to a lot of people about it, I've been trying to tell my story to multiple people but not anybody important...so that's why I'm doing this interview so I can get the truth out, my side of the story," Spitze said to Law and Crime Side Bar host Jesse Weber.
WBIR contacted Spitze for comment but has not heard back.
Although the story about the Friendsville shooting had modest views when it was published in August, it became WBIR's most-viewed story from 2023 nearly overnight.
According to initial reporting on the incident, Spitze was shot by a relative's partner following an argument at a Quarry Hollow Road home in Friendsville on Aug. 25. The bullet hit Spitze's ear; he survived his wounds.
Police said the man who shot him, 68-year-old Jeffrey Scott West, died after SWAT teams arrived to negotiate his surrender. Blount County Sheriff's Office records show West's death was ruled a suicide and no charges were filed in the case.
According to police records about the case, Spitze told authorities about the video shortly after he was shot.
Blount County Sheriff's Office records show Spitze was interviewed by BCSO Detective Joe McCarter at University of Tennessee Medical Center at around 9:30 p.m. the day of the shooting.
"During my conversation with Spitze, he showed me a video on his cellphone that he had recorded of the shooting," McCarter wrote. "I observed the video which showed Spitze's point of view, West coming into his bedroom and talking about blowing his brains out."
McCarter wrote that West then walks away and Spitze walks into the hallway and verbally confronts West.
"...at which point West points the gun at Spitze and pulls the trigger, firing a single shot," McCarter said in the report. "After the shot was fired, Spitze left the house and could be seen walking through the yard."
Later in the report McCarter noted that no charges were filed in the case, since West died. West's death was officially ruled a suicide in November.
The BCSO declined to comment on the shooting.