June 15th will now be known as Tyler Luellen Day in Putnam County.
The Upperman and Tennessee Tech graduate was honored Monday for his actions on the day of the Nashville Christmas bombing. Luellen said he was about to complete a night shift when he was the first on scene to a shots fired call that started it all.
“For me, it was time to go to work,” Luellen said. “I wasn’t personally concerned of my safety or anything of that nature. I was like what can I do to best assist and minimize what may come of this.”
Luellen said nothing amounted from the call, but a countdown of detonation as well as other warnings rang from a RV. Luellen along with other officers acted and went door to door evacuating the area before the explosion happened.
“I usually start at 10:30, but due to the ice on the roads, officers were helping block some of the interstate, so I started my shift early actually,” Luellen said. “Then, I worked that morning was about to get off probably an hour before we got the call for shots fired, and then of course, the incident happened. The bomb exploded.”
Putnam County Mayor Randy Porter honored Luellen with the proclamation for his service. Porter said Luellen is a hero for his actions that day.
“You gave up your life for people that you didn’t even know, and there is no telling how many people you saved that day,” Porter said. “You and your other officers, by putting your life on the line to go warn those people to get out.”
Luellen went to Upperman Middle and High School and furthered his education at Tennessee Tech University before starting his career as a metro police officer.
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