By The Franklin Daily Journal
FRANKLIN — A young man is dead after a shooting Saturday evening in downtown Franklin.
At 6:30 p.m., Franklin police were dispatched to a report of several shots fired in an alley in the 100 block of Hurricane Street, near the Boys and Girls Club of Franklin, according to dispatch records.
Police found an 18-year-old man who they were not identifying Sunday dead from multiple gunshot wounds, said Kirby Cochran, Franklin police chief.
“We appreciate the public’s patience and support with our investigation. We ask anyone with information to please come forward in this senseless tragedy,” Cochran said in a Franklin Police Department social media post.
Within hours, police were searching for the driver of a car believed to be a red 2013 Dodge Dart with a large, noticeable dent in the driver’s side door. The car was seen on multiple cameras in the area of the shooting between 6 and 7 p.m., Cochran said. Police were also seeking more surveillance footage from homeowners in the area.
Johnson County Mobile Command and evidence technicians were called to the scene, and investigators worked throughout the night to identify any leads or suspects.
It was unclear Sunday if the shooting was being investigated as a homicide.
Franklin police dive teams searched Youngs Creek on Sunday for additional evidence, Cochran said.
“This is just as a proactive measure,” Cochran said Sunday. “So you may see divers in the water there this morning.”
The last shooting death in Johnson County was nearly a year ago, when a 19-year-old Greenwood man was found dead outside his apartment near State Road 135 and Smith Valley Road.
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the non-emergency number at 317-346-6336, or tip line at 317-346-1100.
