ATHENS, Tenn. (WDEF)- A suspect is on the run in McMinn County after Athens Police say he shot two men last night, killing one of them.
Carlos Quintana is a person of interest in a homicide that occurred Wednesday night in Athens near J.L. Cook Memorial Park.
Police say that this shooting occurred in this area of Tell and Howard Streets.
Upon arrival, Police discovered two individuals with apparent gunshot wounds.
One was pronounced dead on the scene while the other was alert and taken to a hospital.
Police say Quintana is a younger Hispanic male with tattoos, and is to be considered armed and dangerous.
According to McMinn County Court records, Quintana has been arrested and charged with numerous offenses since 2021, some of those resulting in guilty pleas.
These include numerous robbery and drug offenses, including pleading for a lesser sentence in an attempted aggravated robbery case in 2021.
Most recently on July 18, Quintana had been arrested and charged with possession of a weapon as a convicted felon, a case according to court records that is still pending.
Two days after that arrest, a photo was posted on a Facebook profile that shares the same name, which states that Quintana lives in Athens and attended McMinn County High School.
The tattoos on that picture appear to match the ones seen in the surveillance photos shared by police.
He was last seen fleeing from Harris Street towards Tell Street, and he should be considered armed and dangerous.
Frank Clark, communications director for the city of Athens, said, “As he is a person of interest we would say, do not engage him. If you see him, based on the pictures we have posted online and believe that it is him, especially if he is in immediate proximity to you, call 911. Make that immediate call for us.”
As the manhunt for Quintana continues in Athens, local schools took extra precautions Thursday.
Both Athens City and McMinn County Schools both placed their campuses on secure status.
They continued with a normal school day, with several alterations to protect students.
This included not letting them go outside for recess.
Athens City Schools safety director Andrew Kimball says that this kind of scenario is something they take time to prepare for.
Kimball said, “The main thing that hit home, hopefully for others, is that I have a child in this system, and I send my child here every day, and I feel very comfortable doing so because of our protocols that we have in place, and I know that our teachers and students are safe.”
Tennessee Wesleyan University says they are monitoring the situation as well due to their campus being located about a half mile from the shooting location.
Police say there is a second unnamed suspect they are searching for at this time.
Clark says they have notified the family of the deceased victim, but are waiting to release his identity.
