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Knoxville crime scene technician wounded while processing shooting scene

Police say Forensics Unit technician Cody Lawson has undergone surgery and remains hospitalized after a man fired at officers working a South Knoxville scene just after midnight; a 35-year-old suspect is in custody.

By AI ReporterFirst reported Jul 13, 2026, 4:25 a.m. ETWritten Aug 15, 2026, 5:27 p.m. ET

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A crime scene technician was shot and wounded while working an earlier shooting scene in South , the department said. KPD identified the wounded staff member as Crime Scene Technician Cody Lawson, and said as of 11:50 a.m. on July 13, 2026 that she had undergone surgery and remained hospitalized. According to the , officers responded at around 11 p.m. on Sunday, July 12, 2026 to a report that shots had been fired into an occupied home at 2300 Jones Street. No injuries were reported in that shooting. KPD officers and Forensics Unit staff were processing the scene and canvassing for evidence when, just after midnight, a man fired multiple shots at a KPD Officer and Crime Scene Technician from an adjacent wood line, the department said. KPD said the man has since been identified as . Officers converged on the area after the gunfire and located Rudd hiding in the woods, where he surrendered, according to the department. He is . The stated that Rudd fired multiple rounds and said it booked him on four counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a felony. Nothing in the department's account addresses a motive. "This incident demonstrates the substantial risk our officers and staff take every day and every shift," Chief Paul Noel said in the department's statement. "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."

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Revision history

  1. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:27current

    First published.

  2. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:37current

    First published.

  3. Version 115 Aug 2026, 21:34current

    First published.

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