Mysterious armed man began shooting at tourist in Great Smoky Mountains, park says

A tourist was shot at multiple times in the Deep Creek Picnic Area of Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the gunman has yet to be identified, according to the National Park Service.

The incident happened around 5:40 p.m. on Dec. 22, as the victim was walking towards a pickup involved in traffic accident, the park said in a Jan. 9 news release. The person escaped injury.

“When the individual approached, the driver of the vehicle pointed a handgun at them. The individual fled from the scene and heard multiple gunshots being fired from the area where the encounter occurred,” park officials said.

The incident is being investigated as an assault. A possible motive behind the shots was not released.

Two vehicles were involved in the traffic accident and both were seen fleeing the park towards Bryson City, North Carolina, officials said. The park straddles the state line between Tennessee and North Carolina.

NPS investigators are seeking the public’s help in identifying the gunman, who was in his late teens or early 20s and wearing a hooded jacket, officials said. He had “tan skin” and was traveling in “a newer-model silver or gray four-door pickup truck equipped with a lift kit and bearing a weighted North Carolina registration.”

“The suspect ... and a group of approximately 10 individuals ... were observed in the Deep Creek area prior to the assault and are believed to have been there for most of the late afternoon,” park officials said.

“If you were in the Deep Creek area during the late afternoon of December 22 or if you have any information that could help, please contact us.”

Tips can be offered the NPS Tip Line at 888-653-0009 or online at Go.nps.gov/SubmitATip.