MT. JULIET, TN – The 2024 shooting at Greg Locke’s house was not related to his teachings, according to the Wilson County District Attorney’s office. Wilson County Assistant District Attorney Tammy Meade told The Christian Post that the incident was related to a dispute between Locke’s stepson and the suspect.
Tyler Poole pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault and two counts of reckless endangerment on Monday (Jan. 12). He received a five-year prison sentence for the aggravated assault conviction and two years each for the reckless endangerment counts for a total of nine years. Poole received one year of credit towards his sentence for the year he spent in jail leading up to his conviction and sentencing.
Greg Locke took to Instagram on September 4, 2024, to express gratitude for protection after coming home to a house riddled with bullets. “It’s 2:00 a.m., and for the last 3 hours our home has been a full-blown crime scene,” the pastor of Global Vision Bible Church began his social media post. “According to the security cam footage, we pulled into our driveway exactly ONE MINUTE after a madman unloaded an entire magazine of bullets from an automatic weapon into our house, garage, and my truck,” Locke told his supporters.
The pastor revealed that, although it wasn’t a full house, one of the children was home when the shooting occurred, though not in the line of fire. Locke did not claim that the shooting was an attack on him because of his teachings at the time. Some supporters, however, came to such a conclusion.
“This had nothing to do with Greg Locke, except he owned the house where it (the shooting) happened. It wasn’t retribution for anything he did. It had nothing to do with his teachings,” Tammy Meade told The Christian Post on Thursday (Jan. 15).
“I have some of the best investigators in the country that worked this case,” she continued. “There is no doubt in my mind, and I’ve been doing this for 30 years, that this had nothing to do with that church. It was between the juvenile and one of his friends. It was a beef between young men.”
Greg Locke clarified his statements from 2024 to further quell the assumption of the shooting being related to Global Vision Bible Church.
“It was my family and our home, so it had everything to do with me,” the pastor told the press on Thursday (Jan. 15). “I’ve never claimed it was over my preaching,” he continued. “I said, and still say, when you’re making the devil angry, he fights you.”
Locke further explained, “When I made the post the night it took place, everyone was still in shock and had no idea what was happening. Anyone who has that many bullets riddle their home and personal vehicle will never get over it.”
The Lockes have since relocated to another home, as authorities advised the family not to return to their residence in Mt. Juliet. Global Vision Bible Church has also moved locations since the incident due to the pastor’s desire to hold services in a traditional building instead of a tent.