Large law enforcement presence shocks Atwood neighborhood

ATWOOD, Tenn. — People living on West Main Street in Atwood say it’s normally pretty quiet there — but it wasn’t Wednesday morning.

“They just kept coming — four deputy sheriffs, four state troopers,” Vester Tate, who lives nearby, said.

One neighbor caught the large law enforcement presence on camera — eight patrol vehicles with their lights flashing, in the driveway to a storage facility.

“I stood there and watched. I just couldn’t imagine what was going on over there,” Tate said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol says they tried to perform a traffic stop, but the driver sped off and eventually stopped in the driveway.

Behind the house and bushes is another house. That’s where neighbors, who didn’t want to be on camera, told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News they saw four people being led to sheriff’s vehicles in handcuffs.

“I know they carried her out in cuffs,” Tate said.

Tate even says he saw a deputy approach the house with a gun.

“I saw him get it out of his car — a big gun, one that you hold out here like this,” Tate said.

By 8:30 a.m., everything was cleaned up, and neighbors say a white SUV was towed away.

“We’ve been here 20 something years, and we don’t have anything like that here,” Tate said.

The Tennessee Highway Patrol says they believe the white SUV was stolen.