A would-be Good Samaritan trying to help douse a fire near a motel was shot in the back Wednesday by a man whose roommate feared her ex-boyfriend was trying to break into their room, police said.

The incident left a Crossville man in stable condition at a hospital and an Oak Ridge-employed engineer in jail on a charge of aggravated assault.

Harral R. Davenport, 36, was sitting in a vehicle at a truck stop on Lovell Road with a friend listening to truckers on a citizens band radio when he heard of the fire at the nearby Motel 6. Because Davenport had become acquainted with some of the motel employees while staying there in the past, he opted to go see whether he could help, said Knoxville Police Department Investigator A.J. Loeffler.

Davenport and his friend arrived and found a brush fire moving toward the motel. Another motorist yelled for him to get a fire extinguisher, so Davenport ran to the nearest glass-enclosed extinguisher at the motel.

Davenport smashed the glass case, grabbed the extinguisher and started to run toward the fire, Loeffler said.

"The next thing you know, he's shot," Loeffler said.

Davenport was able to drag himself to his car; another motorist called E-911 for help.

Loeffler said the sound of Davenport breaking the glass to get to the fire extinguisher spooked a couple in the nearest room. It seems the 38-year-old Tellico Plains woman in the room has been threatened by her ex-boyfriend to the point she had obtained an order of protection against him, Loeffler said.

The woman also started carrying a .357 revolver because of the threats. Loeffler said she does not have a handgun carry permit.

"When the glass breaks, they think someone fired a shot and was coming through the window," Loeffler said.

The woman's roommate, Willie Ed Goodloe, 34, of Knoxville, grabbed her pistol and fired a shot through the partially open window curtain, striking Davenport, Loeffler said.

Goodloe and the woman then retreated behind the motel room bed and called E-911 to report an attempted break-in and shots fired, Loeffler said.

When they learned the true circumstances, Loeffler said, "they were both quite upset."