‘Demon from Hell’: Man’s murderous rampage to keep neighborhood ‘safe’ leaves 2 dead, police say

Background: 3000 Block of Somerset Lane in Columbia, Tennessee (Google Maps) Inset: Byron Childers (Maury County Sheriff’s Department)

A suburban Tennessee neighborhood was thrust into chaos last weekend when a man shot and killed two of his neighbors and assaulted several others, according to police.

The alleged motives of the suspect, 46-year-old Byron Dean Childers, are largely unknown, but witness testimony provided insights into the mayhem at the scene.

Love true crime? Sign up for our newsletter, The Law&Crime Docket, to get the latest real-life crime stories delivered right to your inbox.

The Columbia Police Department says its officers were dispatched to the 3000 block of Somerset Lane last Saturday just after 3 p.m. due to reports of a shooting. When they got there, they found three people shot.

Childers is accused of walking up to John Bidle, 46, who was standing in front of a house on the block, and shooting him. The suspect proceeded to stand over him and shoot several more times, while shouting how it was “safe” because he got the “demon from Hell,” according to an arrest affidavit obtained by WSMV.

The suspect was reportedly a resident of the community and a neighbor of Bidle’s.

Stacie Wright, who reportedly lived just across the street from Bidle, opened her door to see what the noises were before Childers shot her several times, the affidavit continued, adding that Bidle’s wife, Amy, saw her husband lying down in the street covered in blood and ran to help him.

Childers is said to have grabbed her and dragged her away, scraping her limbs on the asphalt before taking her by the neck, shoving a vape pen down her throat, punching her in the face, and telling her to “calm down.”

An ice cream truck on the street driven by Mandu Johnson, 47, was allegedly the next target of Childers’ ire, as the suspect is said to have fired several shots and hit Johnson in the hip. Witnesses said Childers proceeded to punch and try to carjack an off-duty Metro Nashville Police Department officer named Jason Lyons, another neighbor, but Lyons stopped him. Childers ran away and was later arrested by Columbia police officers.

Police pronounced John Bidle dead at the scene. Wright was brought to a nearby hospital, where she later died during surgery. Amy Bidle and Johnson were treated for their wounds.

“I lost my best friend, my partner, my forever person, the father of my child,” Amy Bidle said, per NewsChannel 5. She also remembered Wright as “always bright, smiling and friendly.”