Man Charged After Shooting at Dolly Parton's Stampede

A suspect has been charged in the fatal shooting of a man at Dolly Parton’s Stampede.

The incident took place at the dinner attraction in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

As per Rolling Stone, Evan Cogdill, 24, has been charged with criminally negligent homicide, according to the Sevier County Sheriff’s Office.

Cogdill was booked on Sunday, April 26th, the day after he allegedly shot 22-year-old Jacob Inselmann, who was from Steeleville, Illinois. Cogdill is from the same state, Marissa, lllinois.

The Pigeon Forge Police Department said that Cogdill and Inselmann were in the car together outside the Stampede venue when Cogdill’s firearm discharged and struck Inselmann, who was later pronounced dead at LeConte Medical Center. The incident occurred around 7:35 pm, after which Cogdill contacted the police.

At the time of writing, an active investigation into the incident is ongoing.

Parton's Stampede dinner attraction has locations in both the aforementioned Pigeon Forge — also home to the iconic Dollywood tourist spot, which features a collection of 50 rides and attractions — and Branson, Missouri.

The family-oriented dinner attraction combines four-course southern meals with action in the form of musical performances, horseback theatrics, acrobatics, and much more. The Pigeon Forge Stampede location opened all the way back in 1988, then under the name Dixie Stampede. It was later renamed in 2018.

Explaining the reasoning behind the 2018 name change, Parton previously told Billboard back in 2020 about the racist connotations of the word “Dixie” and its association with the Confederacy.

“When they said ‘Dixie’ was an offensive word, I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to offend anybody. This is a business. We’ll just call it ‘The Stampede,'” she told the publication.

“As soon as you realise that [something] is a problem, you should fix it. Don’t be a dumbass. That’s where my heart is. I would never dream of hurting anybody on purpose.”