The Blount County Sheriff’s Office released new details Monday on the August 2 incident that drew a heavy law enforcement response near Skyline Drive - and the official account differs from earlier resident and dispatch-traffic reports in an important way: the shooting did not happen at the Valero. According to the Sheriff’s Office, it began when a property owner in the Hayden area confronted people who had entered private property without permission. As their vehicle left, multiple shots were fired from inside it toward the property owner. No injuries were reported.
The property owner followed the vehicle while staying on the phone with dispatch and reported its location at the Valero Truck Stop on Skyline Drive - which is where Hayden Police Department officers caught up to it and saw two people run from the vehicle into a nearby wooded area.
One of the two was located and taken into custody near Interstate 65; investigators recovered a firearm and other evidence connected to the shooting. The second suspect remains outstanding, though the Sheriff’s Office says the detained suspect provided information identifying him and that investigators have developed leads on his whereabouts. The vehicle, confirmed stolen out of Birmingham, was recovered, along with a trailer that had detached from it during the pursuit; ownership of the trailer is still being determined.
The search drew in multiple agencies beyond Hayden PD and the Sheriff’s Office: the Warrior and Kimberly police departments, the Sheriff’s Office’s Special Response Team, an Alabama Emergency Management Agency drone team, and an Alabama Law Enforcement Agency aviation unit.
Correction to earlier reporting: WestBlount.com’s initial coverage, based on resident accounts and public radio dispatch traffic before any official statement was available, described the disturbance as happening at the Valero itself, including reports of masked individuals inside the store. The Sheriff’s Office’s account places the shooting at a separate location and describes it as a confrontation over trespassing, not a disturbance inside the store.
The investigation remains active. The Sheriff’s Office says additional charges are anticipated as evidence processing and follow-up interviews continue, and that no suspect names are being released at this time. Anyone with information on the incident or the outstanding suspect’s whereabouts is asked to contact the Blount County Sheriff’s Office at 205-973-0517.