Fatal Clay County Shooting

TBI Special Agents are working jointly with deputies with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office to determine the circumstances that led to a shooting incident on North Fork Road, in Clay County, on Monday morning, October 29, that left one juvenile dead and two adults injured.

 

According to the TBI, at approximately 6:30 a.m., school bus driver David Williams had stopped at the residence on North Fork Road, where he usually picks up two female juveniles who live there. Instead, he found an uninjured juvenile female and an adult female with a gunshot wound. The driver transported the two from the immediate area and took them to the Mt. Vernon Fire Department nearby and called 911. 

When authorities arrived at the North Fork Road residence, they found an adult male outside of the home suffering from a gunshot wound. They also found a juvenile female, 11-year-old Harley Evans, inside the home who had been shot and was deceased.

The two adults were transported by helicopter to a Nashville hospital, where they continue to be treated.

The man believed to be responsible for the shootings, had been staying on the property in recent days, working for the male resident. The suspect was seen running into a wooded area next to the house, however 29-year-old Jacob Stanley Synder was captured shortly before 11 a.m. He was booked into the Clay County Jail and has been charged with first-degree murder and two counts of attempted murder.

 The injured man has been identified as Harley’s father and the injured woman as his girlfriend.

At a news conference, Clay County Sheriff Brandon Boone said, “This is a small community and this is something unusual that has happened in our community. I’d like to thank that bus driver for the actions he took for getting the child and woman to safety.”

This continues to be an active investigation.