Murfreesboro homeowner on edge after 15 shots fired at home in son’s bedroom

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WTVF) — Police in Murfreesboro are investigating a potential connection between a home shooting and a nearby carjacking that led to a high-speed chase and fatal crash in Warren County last week.

Julia Pegler’s home was hit by at least 15 bullets just minutes before a car was hijacked on the road. The carjacking ended in Warren County when the suspect crashed into another vehicle, killing a well-known business leader.

Julia shows us what happened to her house in the player above.

“There’s a few up there, one right here. That’s one, two, three, four right there, Pegler said, pointing to the bullet holes.

Pegler – who feels grateful after the incident – ​​recalled waking up to loud knocks on the door.

“She knocked on our door for help and someone shot her? The neighbor across the street saw it all happen,” she said.

Shots were fired around 3:30 a.m. Several bullets entered the home.

“The gallants… it just called. It’s like your head is ringing. Everything sounds. It literally vibrates your whole body – 15 of them. It was the coolest and craziest thing,” Pegler said.

A bullet entered her son’s room and landed on his bed.

“There’s a hole up there where it went into my son’s room and the bullet landed on his bed,” she said. “Thank God he was sleeping in our bed.”

While officers were investigating the shooting, dispatch received a 911 call about a carjacking at a nearby Waffle House. The suspect — identified as Brandon James, 24 — was later killed in a head-on collision in Warren County. The collision claimed the life of Phyllis Prater, a prominent business owner and community figure.

Detectives are working to determine if James was involved in the shooting at Pegler’s home because he lived in the same complex. The shots fired call is being actively investigated.

“I still can’t believe it. I still can’t believe it,” Pegler said.

Although she didn’t know James personally, she often saw him going to work. He lived a few blocks away from her.

She even had conversations with his roommates.

“He was a nice guy from what we could tell. He seemed like a good person,” she said.

As police continue their investigation, Pegler is relieved her loved ones are safe.

“I’m relieved it was nothing to do with us and we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

A Murfreesboro police spokesman warned against spreading rumors on Facebook, saying they hinder the investigation.

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