SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — The Sevier County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting that happened at a home near Asheville Highway Thursday that left one man injured. According to the sheriff’s office, one person was taken into custody and charged after a two-hour standoff.

Deputies responded to the shooting at a home in the 200 block of Asheville Highway on Thursday, where they found a 60-year-old man suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. The victim was taken to UT Medical Center. As of Friday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said he was in stable condition.

SCSO said three other people were also inside the home where the shooting happened.

According to the sheriff’s office, the investigation revealed that the suspect, identified as Eric Coates, 35, was armed and sitting inside a vehicle in the home’s driveway. A release from the sheriff’s office said Coates refused to surrender to officers and threatened to ignite what he described as an “explosive device that he had in his possession.”

Specialized response teams from multiple surrounding agencies, including the Hazardous Devices Unit, were deployed at the scene and introduced “CS Gas,” the SCSO said. They explained that the standoff lasted approximately two hours and ended with Coates surrendering without any further incident.

Coates was initially taken for evaluation at LeConte Medical Center before he was booked into the Sevier County Jail. According to the sheriff’s office, he was charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder, in addition to an outstanding failure to appear warrant from Sevier County.

“Sevier County Sheriff Michael Hodges would like to express his sincere gratitude to all
of the agencies that responded to assist, to include Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
S.W.A.T. Team, Sevier County Interagency Bomb Squad, Sevier County EMA, Sevier
County Ambulance Service, Northview Fire Department and AMR Ambulance Service.” The release from SCSO said.

The ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office’s Criminal Investigation Division.