UPDATE (July 13, 2026, 11:50 am): KPD Crime Scene Technician Cody Lawson has undergone surgery and remains hospitalized following the overnight shooting on Jones Street. Lawson, who has served within the KPD Forensics Unit since February 2023, was shot in the arm and sustained significant injuries.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Joey Rudd, 35, fired multiple rounds at an onscene KPD officer, who had spotted and confronted Rudd in the woods while canvassing the scene of the initial shooting. Lawson was struck by the barrage of gunfire.
No KPD officers fired shots during the initial encounter or subsequent arrest of Rudd.
Rudd has since been booked on four counts of attempted first degree murder and four counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a felony. Additional charges are pending.
Chief Paul Noel issued the following statement:
“This incident demonstrates the substantial risk our officers and staff take every day and every shift. It is only by the grace of God that Cody or one of our officers was not killed today, and I am profoundly grateful for that. Nonetheless, Cody has a long road of recovery ahead. We will support her, her family and her colleagues in the Forensics Unit however we can along the way, and we ask that the community uplift Cody in the days, weeks and months ahead.”
35-year-old Joey Rudd was taken into custody for attempted murder after a Knoxville Police Department Crime Scene Technician was wounded in an overnight shooting in South Knoxville.
At around 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2026, KPD officers responded to a report that shots had been fired into an occupied home at 2300 Jones Street. No injuries were reported in that shooting.
At just after midnight, while officers and Forensics Unit staff were processing the scene and canvassing for evidence, a man since identified as Rudd fired multiple shots at a KPD Officer and Crime Scene Technician from an adjacent wood line.
The Crime Scene Tech was struck by the gunfire, quickly taken away from the immediate scene and transported to an area hospital for treatment for non-life-threatening injuries.
Officers converged on the area after the gunfire and located Rudd hiding in the woods. Rudd ultimately surrendered to officers and was taken into custody without further issue.
Following further investigation, Rudd is being charged with four counts of attempted first degree murder and four counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a felony.
The incident remains under active investigation. That investigation is in the early stages at this time, and more information will be released as the investigation progresses.