Jacob Inselmann, 22, of Steeleville, Illinois, died after a gunshot in the parking lot of Dolly Parton’s Stampede in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, on the evening of Saturday, April 25, 2026. Officers were dispatched about 7:30 p.m. after a 911 call reporting a gunshot; they found two men inside a vehicle and Inselmann was taken to LeConte Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.

Authorities describe the shooting as apparently accidental. The Pigeon Forge Police Department’s investigation led to the arrest of 24-year-old Evan Cogdill of Marissa, Illinois, who was charged with criminally negligent homicide. Cogdill was booked into the Sevier County Jail and released on $25,000 bail; the public defender’s office has been assigned to represent him. The inquiry remains ongoing to determine the precise circumstances of the firearm’s discharge.

If anyone has information about the events in the Stampede parking lot that night, please come forward.