Katie Quackenbush, an aspiring singer, was arrested after Nashville police accused her of shooting a homeless man last month after they argued about moving her vehicle so he could sleep, authorities said in a statement Monday.
Quackenbush, 26, singer and songwriter from Amarillo, Texas, was released on $25,000 bond on a charge of attempted murder Monday after Nashville police arrested her in connection with the shooting, The Tennessean reported.
Gerald Melton, 54, was wounded in the shooting Aug. 26 in the 900 block of 19th Avenue South near Music Row, police said in a statement. Melton, who was originally listed in critical condition, remains hospitalized at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, authorities noted.
Kristin Smart, a medical center spokeswoman, told The Tennessean that Melton's condition was upgraded to stable this week.
Nashville police said in its statement that Melton was trying to sleep on the sidewalk at 3 a.m. when he claimed that exhaust fumes and loud music coming from a Porsche SUV disturbed him. Melton reportedly asked the driver, who was allegedly Quackenbush, to move the vehicle, authorities said.
Quackenbush allegedly retrieved a weapon from her vehicle after an argument broke out between the two and fired two shots at Melton, one striking the man in the abdomen, authorities said. Melton told police that Quackenbush allegedly fled the scene after the shooting, police said in the statement.
Jesse Quackenbush, Katie Quackenbush's father and an attorney in Amarillo, said his daughter shot in self-defense after Melton accosted her while she was helping a friend to her car, The Tennessean said.
Jesse Quackenbush said Melton had threatened to kill his daughter and her friend while making explicit and sexist comments, the newspaper said. He told The Tennessean she only fired "warning shots" when Melton approached her and her friend, and the homeless man never indicated that he was injured.
Police said neither Katie Quackenbush nor her friend initially contacted police about the incident, the newspaper said.
Peter Strianse, Katie Quackenbush's attorney, told The Tennessean that there was surveillance video of the incident and suggested it would vindicate his client even though he had yet to see it.
"I think she felt threatened, because she was threatened," Strianse told the newspaper. "She was dealing with somebody that came out of an extremely dark street in the early morning hours who comes out of nowhere and is banging violently on the car window. Somebody who appears to be either deranged, somebody who may be on some sort of drug, who seems completely unhinged, and that's why she reacted the way that she did."
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