In Maryville, Tennessee, the life of 16-year-old Joseph Dillon French came to a tragic end in February 2016. The male teenager was being held at the Blount County Juvenile Detention Center on truancy charges. It was his fourth time in the facility. During a visit on the day of his escape, he reportedly told his mother that he intended to leave the non-secure holding area.
On the evening of February 19th, French violently attacked a 64-year-old female corrections officer when she escorted
him to the restroom. He struck her repeatedly with a porcelain toilet tank lid and, after it broke, with his fists. French then managed to access an unlocked gun safe and took the officer's. 40-caliber Glock handgun. He aimed the weapon at her and pulled the trigger, but there was no bullet in the chamber, and it did not fire. The officer, Sheila Fortner, survived the assault.
After the failed attempt to shoot the officer, French fled the juvenile detention facility, prompting an extensive overnight manhunt involving helicopters and K-9 units. Before he was located, law enforcement had taken out warrants for his arrest on charges of attempted homicide, aggravated assault, felony escape, and theft.
The search concluded on the morning of February 20th, when French's body was discovered on a Maryville greenway. He had died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. The Maryville Police Department and the Blount County Sheriff's Office investigated his death. In the aftermath, French's mother expressed her condolences to the injured officer and stated that her son's violent actions were out of character, attributing them to his struggles with depression and drug use. The county sheriff noted that state law mandated a non-secure facility for offenses like truancy and that such an incident could potentially happen again due to the nature of the facility.
