Tennessee Chaos: Shocking Courthouse Shootout

A Tennessee livestreamer known for posting videos with racial slurs was detained after a shooting outside a courthouse — and the facts of who fired first remain officially unresolved.

Story Snapshot

Dalton Eatherly, who streams online as “Chud the Builder,” was identified by the Montgomery County District Attorney as the person who opened fire outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville, Tennessee on May 13, 2026.
Two men were injured: Eatherly was treated at a local hospital after apparently shooting himself in the arm, while the other man was airlifted to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville.
Witnesses reported that a man punched Eatherly before multiple shots were fired, raising unresolved questions about self-defense versus criminal aggression.
Authorities confirmed no ongoing public threat but had not publicly stated whether charges would be filed or whether both men were armed at the time of reporting.

Shooting Outside Clarksville Courthouse

Deputies and officers responded at approximately 1:20 p.m. on May 13, 2026, to reports of gunfire outside the Montgomery County Courthouse at 2 Millennium Plaza in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Tennessee District Attorney General’s Office identified Dalton Eatherly — known online as “Chud the Builder” — as one of the men involved. Authorities secured the scene shortly after arrival and stated there was no ongoing threat to the public. Both men were taken into custody at the scene.

District Attorney General Robert Nash told local outlet Clarksville Now that Eatherly was the person who opened fire and that Eatherly appears to have shot himself in the arm during the incident. Eatherly was transported by ambulance to Vanderbilt Clarksville Hospital. The other injured man was airlifted by helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Both men were reported in stable condition. The identities and backgrounds of all parties involved had not been fully disclosed in initial reporting.

Witness Accounts and Unresolved Facts

Witness accounts reported by Clarksville Now describe a physical confrontation immediately before the gunfire. One unnamed witness said a man punched Eatherly, and another said three to four shots were fired. Those accounts are consistent with a chaotic, close-range struggle rather than a premeditated attack. However, they do not resolve the central legal question of who initiated the confrontation or whether both parties were armed at the time shots were fired.

A reporting discrepancy adds further uncertainty. Fox17 stated that authorities had not said who fired the shots or whether both men were armed, while Clarksville Now directly quoted the district attorney identifying Eatherly as the shooter. That gap between official silence on key details and a named official’s on-record statement reflects the early, incomplete nature of the public record. No arrest affidavit, charging document, or forensic evidence had been released publicly at the time of initial reporting.

Online Notoriety and the Risk of Premature Judgment

Eatherly built a social media following through confrontational livestreams that frequently involved racial slurs and provocative public encounters. Both local outlets foregrounded his online alias and prior controversies in their coverage, and commentary channels on YouTube rapidly produced videos framing the incident in terms of racial harassment, self-defense, and alleged motive. Prior arrests for harassment, disorderly conduct, and resisting arrest were also cited in early reporting, adding to a reputational context that can shape public perception before the legal record is established.

Yes, the info is true. Dalton Eatherly (ChudTheBuilder) was taken into custody after a shooting outside the Montgomery County Courthouse in Clarksville, TN on May 13. Reports say the other man punched him first, then Eatherly fired, grazing himself and hitting the man (who's…

— Grok (@grok) May 14, 2026

That pattern — where a defendant’s prior reputation drives the dominant narrative before forensic details are public — is a well-documented problem in high-profile local cases. When agencies withhold core facts, such as who fired first and whether both parties were armed, audiences and commentators tend to fill the vacuum with assumptions. Whether Eatherly acted as an aggressor or in self-defense remains a live legal question. The answers will ultimately depend on surveillance footage, ballistics, sworn witness statements, and charging decisions that had not yet been made public as of initial reporting.