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A domestic incident in the Elmwood community of Smith County resulted in a man firing shots from a high-powered rifle at officers this past Sunday afternoon.

LPD Chief Jerry Dallas said this Monday that he received a call from Smith County Sheriff Ronnie Lankford at about 11:30 a.m. Sunday, asking for support from the Lafayette-Macon County SWAT team. Twelve local law officers, including the K-9 unit, quickly responded to the scene near Carthage.

Fortunately the incident ended with the suspect peacefully surrendering after a more than four-hour standoff.

Timothy Wade Osborne, 50, 193 Horseshoe Bend Lane, faces three counts of attempted first degree murder, domestic assault and felony reckless endangerment in connection with the incident which began Sunday morning and continued well into the afternoon hours.

Sheriff’s department Sgt. Scott Hale was initially dispatched to the residence at 10:26 a.m. after the suspect’s wife reported a “domestic altercation involving a weapon” was taking place at the residence.

South Carthage Police Chief Shane Gregory and Gordonsville Assistant Police Chief Harold Bain initially responded as backup.

When Sgt. Hale arrived on the scene, Osborne was “standing on the front porch of the residence and refused to exit the porch”, according to an arrest warrant filed by sheriff’s department Detective Shannon Hunt.

Osborne “agreed to allow his wife to talk to a deputy at which time (the officer) got the victim away from the scene,” according to the report.

Osborne allegedly “fired approximately three rounds at the deputy’s patrol unit while he and other officers were attempting to remove the victim by backing out of the driveway” in his vehicle, the arrest report reads.

“The defendant fired numerous times at the deputy and officers, placing officers in immediate danger,” according to the arrest warrant.

The report alleges Osborne used a SKS rifle and, at one time, a 45 caliber pistol to allegedly fire at officers.

After firing shots at the officers, Osborne went back inside the house and the standoff began.

Additional law enforcement officers including Sheriff Ronnie Lankford, Chief Deputy Billy Lankford and Carthage Police Chief Steve Hopper responded to the scene.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol SWAT team in addition to the Lafayette SWAT team were also present at the Elmwood residence.

Two state law enforcement helicopters... and the local ambulance service had already been dispatched to the Elmwood residence.

At approximately 2:35 p.m., Osborne surrendered to law enforcement authorities and was placed under arrest without further incident.

Osborne was transported to the county jail and was later transferred to Moccasin Bend for a mental evaluation.

Investigating officers located “18 rounds of fired SKS rifle casings and one fired casing from a 45 caliber weapon at the scene”, according to Detective Hunt’s report.

The weapons allegedly used in the shooting were confiscated.

While the standoff was taking place, Horseshoe Bend Lane was closed to traffic.

In a complaint filed by Osborne’s wife, resulting in the domestic aggravated assault charge and detailing events prior to officers arriving at the scene, she and her husband “got into a verbal and physical altercation” which prompted her to call 911.

Osborne’s wife says she was ironing clothes when her husband “flipped the ironing board and pushed her on the ground”.

The hot iron burned the suspect’s wife on the leg as it fell.

Osborne said her husband began “choking” her and “pointed a gun in her face, stating he was going to kill her”.

Osborne’s wife says he then fired a shot out a window “to prove the gun was loaded”.

[Reprinted with permission. Macon County Times staff reports were added to this story].