Adamsville police: dispute between brothers ends in shooting, one teen arrested

A dispute between two brothers led to the first shooting in at least a decade in Adamsville late Monday night.
As of today, one brother is in the hospital with a gunshot wound and a friend of the other is in jail.
Nicholas Maness, 19, of Finger, was arrested and is charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. Maness is alleged to have shot Joshua Purvis, 37, of Adamsville, in the abdomen with a .22 caliber revolver.
According to his arrest affidavit, Maness says he shot Purvis because Purvis was coming at him with a large knife and wouldn’t stop.
Adamsville Police Department officer Alli Pettit was the first to arrive at the scene of the shooting at 11:39 p.m. and described the incident in the arrest affidavit of Maness.

Joshua Purvis, 37, of Adamsville is alleged to have been shot by Nicholas Maness, 19, of Finger, in the front yard of this home at 693 West Main Street in Adamsville.  Maness said he shot Purvis because Purvis was coming at him with a large knife and would not stop.

According to the affidavit, Cameron Purvis, 18, of Adamsville, and Maness went to 693 West Main St. in Adamsville to “talk things out or fight” after the three had been arguing over the phone and through cell phone messaging.
A person close to the incident who would only speak on the condition of anonymity said Cameron and Joshua Purvis are brothers who were “family fighting. You know, like brothers do. Just being idiots.”
Pettit wrote in the affidavit that when she arrived at the scene she found Maness and Cameron Purvis standing in the driveway and Joshua Purvis lying on the ground. When the officer asked who shot who, Maness told her he shot Joshua Purvis because Purvis came at him with a knife.
Pettit called for EMS and Joshua Purvis was taken by ambulance to Hardin Medical Center and later airlifted to The Med in Memphis, where he is said to remain in serious but stable condition as of Wednesday afternoon.
Immediately after the investigation at the scene and transport of Joshua Purvis to the hospital, Maness and Cameron Purvis were taken to the APD station for questioning.
According to the affidavit, Maness said he and Cameron Purvis drove 20 minutes from their residence in Finger to confront Joshua Purvis in Adamsville, after an argument including threats had ensued over Facebook messenger and phone conversations. Maness was the driver.
According to Maness’ statement, when the two arrived at the home on West Main Street, Joshua Purvis met them at the driveway before they exited the vehicle and went to the passenger side, where Cameron was seated, and shouted for Cameron to get out.
“As Cameron Purvis got out, he saw that Joshua Purvis had a large Bowie-type knife” and Joshua began chasing his brother Cameron across the yard with the knife in his hand, according to Maness’ statement.
Seeing Joshua chasing Cameron with a large knife, Maness says, he retrieved a pistol he keeps in his vehicle, brandished it, and ordered Joshua Purvis to stop trying to assault Cameron.
The affidavit continues with Maness saying, “Joshua Purvis turned on (me) and was coming at (me) with the knife,” and when Joshua refused to stop, Maness shot him.
The father of the two Purvis brothers is said to have been at the home and saw his son Joshua get shot.
Following the interviews of Maness and Cameron Purvis, Maness was placed under arrest and booked into the McNairy County jail, where he remains on $25,000 bond.
Neither Cameron nor Joshua Purvis has been charged, but Chief Daniel Vandiver said earlier today that the incident remains under investigation and additional charges could follow.
“I think – I’m pretty sure – that this is the first shooting in Adamsville in over ten years,” Vandiver added.