Police said gunfire linked to an argument near a Nashville lounge pierced the store, killing Paris Carlock as he worked.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A 55-year-old Frito-Lay employee was killed early Sunday when a bullet fired outside traveled through the metal wall of a South Nashville Sam’s Club and struck him as he conducted product inventory in the store’s chip aisle, police said.
Metro Nashville Police identified the victim as Paris Carlock of Murfreesboro. Investigators said the gunfire just after 4 a.m. Sept. 6 was connected to an argument that began inside Lavo Lounge, a short distance from the Sam’s Club on Antioch Pike. Security removed people involved in the dispute, which reportedly continued outside, police said. Shots were then heard as several vehicles were leaving the area. Homicide detectives were pursuing leads, but police had not announced an arrest or publicly identified a shooter as of Tuesday morning.
Carlock was working in the middle of the warehouse store when the bullet entered through a side wall, according to a Metropolitan Nashville Police Department statement. Employees rushed to help him after he was struck. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police described Carlock as an innocent victim and have not reported any connection between him and the people involved in the earlier dispute.
Carlock’s daughter, Kayla Carlock, told FOX 17 News that her father was a humble and loving man who stayed close to his family. She said she spoke with him every day and had planned to bring her 6-week-old son to Nashville so her father could meet his grandson. She described him as someone relatives and co-workers could depend on and said his death had devastated the family.
Investigators have focused on the circumstances surrounding the gunfire on Antioch Pike. Police said people involved in the earlier argument had been removed from Lavo Lounge by security before the dispute continued outside. Multiple vehicles were leaving when shots were heard, according to investigators. Police have not publicly said how many shots were fired, identified the vehicles involved or announced that they recovered the firearm used in the shooting.
Lavo Lounge said in a statement to FOX 17 that it was prepared to cooperate with police and provide information or surveillance footage that could help investigators. The business also cautioned against assuming it was responsible for the shooting simply because police said an earlier argument occurred inside the lounge. The company said investigators should be allowed to establish the facts before conclusions are drawn about responsibility.
The shooting has also renewed safety concerns along that stretch of Antioch Pike. Metro Council member David Benton, who represents the area, told FOX 17 that city agencies have dealt with calls involving Lavo Lounge in the past and are working with police, the Metro Beer Board and the Office of Nightlife on concerns involving clubs in the area. Benton said the lounge had been relatively quiet this year before Sunday’s shooting. Police have not said the business itself committed any offense connected with Carlock’s death.
Sam’s Club said it was heartbroken by the incident and was cooperating with law enforcement. PepsiCo, which owns Frito-Lay, also expressed condolences to Carlock’s family and said it was working with police and local officials. Neither company announced additional details about Carlock’s work assignment or the circumstances that placed him inside the store before normal shopping hours.
Police continued asking for information about the gunfire and the vehicles that were leaving the area when the shooting occurred. Investigators have not released descriptions of suspects or announced criminal charges. The case remains an active homicide investigation, with detectives working to determine who fired the round that entered the Sam’s Club and killed Carlock.
As of Tuesday morning, Sept. 8, police had not announced an arrest or identified the shooter publicly. The circumstances of the gunfire, including who fired the fatal shot and whether more than one person fired a weapon, remained under investigation.
Author note: Last updated September 8, 2026.