Tenn. D.A. Tried to Fire Gun at Wanted Murder Suspect But Instead Hit Home with Mom and Kids Inside: Police

A Tennessee district attorney has been charged with reckless endangerment after he allegedly fired a bullet into a family’s home while chasing down a murder suspect, authorities say.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation announced the charges against 31st Judicial District Attorney General Christopher Robert Stanford on Monday.

In the TBI’s press release about Stanford’s charges on Monday, the bureau said Stanford “fired a gun several times” while chasing the suspect.

Stanford “surrendered to authorities at the DeKalb County Jail, from which authorities released him after he posted $10,000 bond,” the TBI said.

Stanford, the district attorney for Van Buren and Warren counties, was chasing a suspect who is wanted for a triple homicide when he fired the weapon, which sent a bullet into a family’s home, inside of which a mother and her three children were at the time, authorities allege, according to The Tennessean.

Nobody was injured during the incident, the newspaper reported, citing a copy of Stanford’s indictment.

The Tennessean reported that Stanford was accused of “unlawfully, intentionally and recklessly” firing his weapon during the chase and that the charge against him is a felony.

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The man Stanford was chasing, Caleb Brookins, was arrested the night Stanford was chasing him and was later charged with three counts of criminal homicide, according to Fox News. It’s not clear if Brookins has entered a plea or retained an attorney.

PEOPLE has reached out to Stanford’s office for comment but did not immediately receive a response Wednesday.