New federal gun crime operation aims to protect Nashville communities

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) – A new operation is trying to quell gun violence in Middle Tennessee by also arresting people on federal charges.

Federal prosecutors and the FBI work with local and state law enforcement to identify repeat violent offenders.

This was announced by Acting US Attorney Thomas Jaworski. “Operation Bond Watch” aims to prevent people on bail awaiting trial from carrying guns and possibly causing harm to the community.

Jaworski said he began looking into the issue earlier this year after seeing WSMV reports on repeat violent crime offenders, including the Salemtown Easter brunch mass shooting and the attempted kidnapping of an MLK Magnet School student.

City Police Chief John Drake told WSMV at the time that about 16 percent of people arrested for violent crimes in Nashville are rearrested without bail.

As part of this new initiative, Jaworski’s office plans to begin tracking down people arrested for illegal gun possession to keep them behind bars on federal charges pending state trial. He said it’s much easier to get permission from a federal judge to detain someone if they pose a threat to the public.

“Every morning I wake up, turn on the news and see that someone got shot last night,” Jaworski said. “If we don’t step in and do something, no one will, and I hope so. So that there is less violence, so that Nashville becomes and continues to be a welcoming place for tourism, for people to move here and for businesses to move here. If crime isn’t under control, you can’t do any of this.”

Jaworski said the U.S. Attorney’s Office plans to start with people arrested for murder and attempted murder and then expand the operation in the future. He is reassigning staff and hiring more people to help with additional activities.

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Mothers Over Murder organizer Sarah Sheppard said the policy could have prevented the death of her son Darnell Appling in 2022.

She said it was a “good step forward” after the man arrested for Appling’s murder was previously charged with assaulting someone with a firearm.

“If you could have done something back then, maybe this wouldn’t have happened,” Sheppard said. “That’s the problem. We think, “Oh, let’s just give them a little slap on the wrist,” but that’s not the case. You can’t do this.”

Felons convicted of illegally possessing guns face more than 10 years in federal prison, Jaworski said. Officials hope this will deter people from committing violent crimes and prevent more families from suffering a tragedy like Sheppard’s.