Aiden Long Charged After Pigeon Forge Shooting, Police Say

Aiden Long, 21, of Ringold, Georgia, was charged with aggravated assault after police responded to a cabin in pigeon forge and found a man shot in the stomach. The case centers on Bradley Vandergriff, 31, of Dalton, Georgia, who was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center for treatment.

Craig Cruise, a Pigeon Forge Police Department public information officer, said, "A man has been charged after a shooting in Pigeon Forge, according to the Pigeon Forge Police Department."

Craig Cruise update

Cruise later said, "officers responded to a cabin to find a man shot in the stomach." The cabin was within the city limits of Pigeon Forge, putting the shooting inside the city’s jurisdiction and leaving one man facing a felony charge while another was sent for treatment.

Bradley Vandergriff treatment

Vandergriff was identified as the man shot in the stomach. Police said he was taken to the University of Tennessee Medical Center, which means the immediate medical response shifted quickly from the cabin to hospital care.

The charge against Long is the clearest documented consequence in the case so far. Police have not said what led to the shooting or whether anyone else was charged, leaving the arrest as the main public step in the investigation.

For people staying in or near cabin rentals in Pigeon Forge, the practical takeaway is simple: police have already tied a named suspect to the shooting, and the case has moved from the scene to the charging stage. The next development will come through the criminal process around Long’s aggravated assault charge.

Ringold Georgia charge

Long’s home city was listed as Ringold, Georgia, and Vandergriff’s as Dalton, Georgia. With both men identified by name and age, the record now gives a specific picture of who police say was involved, even as the reason for the shooting remains outside the public account.