A teenager allegedly opened fire on his family members after getting into an argument over waking up for school.

According to local newspaper The Tennessean, a fierce quarrel broke out when a relative tried to rouse the 16-year-old - who was not named - from bed in their apartment in East Nashville, Tennessee, on Tuesday (March 1) morning.

"There was a quarrel about getting up and getting ready for the day when he ran to a closet, got a 9mm handgun and started firing," Nashville police spokesman Kris Mumford told the paper.

The teenager's 67-year-old grandmother, Earline Hill, was shot twice. His 12-year-old sister and six-year-old nephew were grazed by bullets.

All three were taken to hospital for treatment and are expected to make a full recovery as their injuries were not life-threatening, the paper said.

Despite also turning the gun on his 42-year-old mother, Sheryl Williams, the teenager missed when she ducked behind a couch in the living room. His two-year-old sister was also unhurt.

He then threw the gun in a nearby apartment and fled his home on foot, police said.

A schools spokesman said six nearby schools, including one that was acting as a polling station for Tennessee's primary elections, had to be placed on lockdown because of the incident.

The teenager was arrested after police found him walking along a set of railroad tracks, less than a kilometre away from his home.

The handgun was eventually recovered, although police said they were informed by the teenager's family members that they were not aware there was a gun in the closet.

He has been charged in Juvenile Court with four counts of attempted homicide and one count of reckless endangerment.

A statement from the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department said the teenager attends Johnson Alternative Learning Center, which takes in students previously expelled from school.