FRANKLIN COUNTY, Tenn. - A young Franklin County Sheriff's deputy was shot and killed late Saturday night.
The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation confirmed 25-year-old Michael Claiborne was killed at a residence along Rowe Gap Road in the Wildlife Estates community. Claiborne was off duty at the time, and investigators said he was with other people. The Franklin County Sheriff's department confirmed that TBI believes the homeowner, Larry White, was the shooter. No motive has been confirmed.
White's private residence was about 150 yards behind an iron gate. It is currently up for sale. Listings boasted the 2,000 square foot home sits on nearly 8 acres of land. It's unclear what Claiborne and the other people were doing at the home Saturday night.
Claiborne, the son of a Lincoln County deputy sheriff, had been in law enforcement for five years. He had only been with the Franklin County department for 17 months, and was training with the SWAT team and canine unit.
"We're gonna miss Mike," said the department's public information officer, Chris Guess. "We all loved him here. He was one of us."
Guess described Claiborne as promising.
"Hard worker. One of those kinds of guys that got to work early everyday," said Guess.
On Sunday morning, the department had to pick up Deputy 1122's patrol car from his home and park it in their lot.
"It's like losing a member of the family. It's just tough," said Guess.
The TBI will take the case against White before a Grand Jury on July 6th.
Its 11:30 at night.
On private property that is described as “up for sale, about 150 yards behind an iron gate on 8 acres of land.”
Property has a history of recent burglaries that has the owner concerned.