Man wanted for deadly shooting at Salemtown restaurant arrested in Kentucky
PRINCETON, Ky. (WKRN) — A man wanted for an Easter Sunday shooting at a Salemtown restaurant that left one person dead and several others injured is set to return to Tennessee in the near future after being arrested in Kentucky.
The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said on Tuesday, April 2, 46-year-old Anton Rucker was found at a home in Princeton, Kentucky, after The Investigative Team Addressing Neighborhood Shootings (TITANS) Unit developed information strongly indicating he was there.
According to authorities, detectives traveled to Kentucky and started working with other law enforcement agencies, including the Pennyrile Narcotics Task Force; the Princeton Police Department; the U.S. Marshal’s Fugitive Task Force; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF); and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). As a result of that collaboration, Rucker was taken into custody Tuesday night by members of the Marshal’s Task Force after he reportedly came out of the Princeton residence and surrendered without incident.
Just after 3 p.m. Sunday, March 31, shots rang out during Easter brunch at Roasted Salemtown, located in the 600 block of Garfield Street, which is near Germantown.
The MNPD initially reported 33-year-old Allen Beachem was shot and killed; five other gunshot victims ended up with non-critical injuries; one person was brought to the hospital with a possible graze wound that was described as a scratch, which could have been sustained by brushing up against a piece of sharp furniture; and a pregnant woman had a panic attack and wanted to go to the hospital to be checked out, even though she was not wounded.
According to police, minutes after Rucker arrived at Roasted, he and another man — who is believed to be Beachem — got into an argument that “significantly escalated within moments.” However, there is no indication at this time that the two men knew each other.
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Investigators said Rucker fired shots from a pistol and then drove off in a Mercedes GLS 450 with a woman who came to the restaurant with him.
On Sunday night, the MNPD announced Rucker was wanted in connection with the shooting. Not only does he have aggravated assault convictions in Davidson County, but he was reportedly arrested in Murfreesboro for felony drug charges last Halloween, as well as aggravated assault and unlawful gun possession by a convicted felon in Rutherford County last August. He had been released on bond for both of those cases.
On Monday, April 1, the TBI added Rucker to its Most Wanted list.
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Rucker is being held in Kentucky at the Caldwell County Jail on a fugitive from justice warrant, according to police. However, authorities announced that Rucker waived extradition on Wednesday, April 3 and will be returned to Nashville in the near future.
According to the MNPD, Rucker is named in a criminal homicide arrest warrant charging him with Beachem’s death, but additional charges are expected against him for the “non-critical wounding of six additional persons in the restaurant” as the case advances.
Another man — identified by officials as 43-year-old Terrance Hall — was also found inside in the home and was taken into custody after law enforcement learned he was a fugitive out of Tennessee. He was allegedly wanted for a domestic assault incident that occurred in 2020, which is unrelated to the Rucker investigation.
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