In a tragic turn of events stemming from an online vehicle trade, 22-year-old Christopher Brandon McCabe, a White male from Gallatin, Tennessee, lost his life on April 5, 2022. The fatal encounter occurred on Donelson Pike, near the entrance to Nashville International Airport. The incident began after McCabe had arranged to trade his BMW sedan for a Dodge Charger through Facebook Marketplace.
On that Tuesday evening, the BMW, now in the possession of the other party, broke down.
A person with the disabled vehicle called McCabe for assistance. He arrived at the scene in a relative's SUV, where a dispute broke out. During the confrontation, McCabe was fatally shot while inside his relative's vehicle. He attempted to drive away but crashed into a guardrail shortly after.
Following the shooting, three suspects were reported to have fled the scene in the BMW. The investigation, led by the Metro Nashville Police Department's Homicide Unit and its TITANS Unit, quickly identified a primary suspect. Brandon Swaby, a 20-year-old Jamaican citizen, was located and arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. Swaby was taken into custody on April 10, 2022, as he was attempting to board a flight to his home country of Jamaica.
Swaby was subsequently charged with criminal homicide and was held in Broward County, Florida, pending his extradition to Nashville. In October 2024, Brandon Swaby pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder. While one individual has been held accountable, the investigation into other potential suspects involved in the incident has continued.
