Gunman shot 3 workers at SmileDirectClub in Antioch, Tennessee, before officers killed him, police say

By Gregory Lemos and Jason Hanna, CNN

An employee of a SmileDirectClub manufacturing facility in Tennessee opened fire there Tuesday morning, injuring three co-workers before police officers shot and killed him, authorities said.

The gunman, believed to be a day-shift employee, shot three people at the facility in the Nashville neighborhood of Antioch just before 6 a.m. during a change of shifts, Metropolitan Nashville Police Department spokesman Don Aaron said.

Police officers encountered the gunman shortly after the shooting, and the gunman directed a semiautomatic pistol at them after being told to drop his weapon, Aaron said. Police then shot the gunman, Aaron said.

The gunman had shot one employee in the chest; one in the abdomen; and one in a leg, Aaron said. One of the three was in critical condition Tuesday morning, he said.

Earlier, police said the gunman had shot two people.

A fourth worker injured her ankle while running, Aaron said.

No names were immediately released. Police also have not commented about a motive.

The gunman had been working there “for a relatively short period of time,” Aaron said.

SmileDirectClub, a Nashville-based company that makes clear plastic teeth aligners, said “the incident was contained quickly by security personnel on site.”

“The safety of our team members is a top priority for our company and we maintain strict security protocols and a no weapons policy at all of our facilities,” the company said Tuesday in a Twitter statement.

SmileDirectClub is known primarily for working with dentists and orthodontists to sell clear aligners online as an alternative to traditional braces.

The Antioch neighborhood is about a 12-mile drive southeast of downtown Nashville.

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CNN’s Carma Hassan contributed to this report.