UPDATE NOVEMBER 5:
The United States Attorney’s Office charged Palacios-Amaya with unlawful gun possession by a previously convicted felon. The criminal cases against him will be proceeding in both federal and state courts.
Palacios-Amaya drove around South Nashville Thursday morning firing a stolen AR-15 from a red Nissan sedan is a convicted felon on probation out of Rutherford County.
Palacios-Amaya, 24, is now jailed in the Downtown Detention Center on charges of felony reckless endangerment, gun theft, unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon, and felony evading arrest.
Over a 1 hour 20 minute period on Thursday morning between 8:30 a.m. and 9:50 a.m., Palacios-Amaya is alleged to have fired rifle shots as he drove in the 3500 block of Calais Circle, the parking lot of Plaza Mariachi at 3955 Nolensville Pike, the parking lot of a strip shopping center at 3804 Nolensville Pike, and in the area of a mobile home park on Waikiki Boulevard at Hawaii Road. He also entered Plaza Mariachi carrying the rifle.
Officers throughout South Nashville were looking for the Nissan when it was spotted at 10:10 a.m. on Antioch Pike near Harding Place. Palacios-Amaya accelerated when an officer attempted to stop him, resulting in a pursuit. Palacios-Amaya traveled from South Nashville toward the Percy Priest Lake area. Officers deployed a spike strip and damaged the Nissan’s tires near the intersection of Bell Road and Stewarts Ferry Pike. Palacios-Amaya continued driving across the Percy Priest dam until coming to a stop on Bell Road near Dodson Chapel Road. He complied with officers’ commands and was taken into custody. Recovered from the car was the rifle, which was stolen as part of an August 5th vehicle theft on Hickory Woods Drive in Nashville.
In an interview at police headquarters, Palacios-Amaya admitted to firing the shots to scare people. He said he also fired shots in the LaVergne area Thursday morning before driving to South Nashville. The United States Attorney’s Office is being consulted about his actions for a determination on potential federal charges.
Palacios-Amaya has auto burglary and felony theft convictions out of Williamson County stemming from a September 2020 case, and a felony theft conviction out of Rutherford County stemming from a January 2021 case. He was on probation in Rutherford County at the time of his arrest on Thursday.
November 5, 2025 – A man who reportedly fired shots while driving through South Nashville has been taken into custody following a pursuit that ended near Dodson Chapel Road, authorities confirmed.
The suspect was spotted carrying a firearm inside Plaza Mariachi on Nolensville Pike. Witnesses reported that he subsequently fired shots from a red Nissan Sentra while driving through the South Nashville area, particularly near Waikiki Boulevard.
Law enforcement officers deployed spike strips at Bell Road and Stewarts Ferry Pike and the car stopped on Stewarts Ferry Pike near Dodson Chapel Road. Officers took the suspect into custody.
The red Nissan Sentra came to a stop on Stewarts Ferry Pike near Dodson Chapel Road, where officers took the armed suspect into custody without further incident. The man was apprehended on Dodson Chapel near Bell Road.
During the pursuit, several schools in Southeast Nashville were on lockout, reports WSMV.
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