A Tennessee man is facing six counts of aggravated assault after allegedly opening fire on a family of six who were sledding in the snow, claiming they were on his property. Benjamin Cook was arrested and charged after a report was made to the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office that a man was shooting at a family playing outside.
According to the sheriff’s office, the family of six had walked down the street to go sledding down a hill in their neighborhood when they heard gunshots coming from a nearby house. The mother observed snow fly up from the ground just a couple of feet from her one-year-old son, and the parents immediately yelled at Cook to stop shooting. Cook claimed the family was on his property, but they responded that they were not.
The family gathered their belongings and went home before reporting the incident to authorities. Deputies responded to the shooter’s house and spoke to Cook, who was later arrested on aggravated assault charges. An investigation revealed that the family was not on Cook’s property when he began shooting, and a search warrant was executed at his home, where several rifles were found inside. Additional charges could be filed pending the outcome of the investigation.
