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The 42-year-old man tried to fire his gun but failed and then
pulled out a knife around 9:30 a.m., said Don Aaron,
spokesperson for Metro Nashville Police.
“The security individual fired on the armed individual,” Aaron
said, adding that the man was taken to a hospital, where he was
pronounced dead.
He was later identified by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation
as Jack Henson II. No hometown was released, though police
earlier said he was from out of state.
Investigators didn't immediately know why he was at the
courthouse, and a search of his car found “nothing threatening,”
Aaron said.
Courthouse visitors must go through a security checkpoint, which
is common at all federal courts. The entrances are typically
staffed by armed former police officers contracted by the U.S.
Marshals Service.
“That’s the entrance that most people in this courthouse use,"
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire told reporters
outside.
The library next door was closed as a result, and officers with
dogs were circling the perimeter while workers in nearby
buildings gathered to watch.
McGuire noted that the local U.S. Attorney's Office is inside
the courthouse, as are the offices of Tennessee's U.S. senators.
There have been “security instances where a person acts up or
acts inappropriately and has to be removed from the premises,
but nothing even approaching this kind of situation,” he said.
Reports of the shooting immediately stirred anxiety and concern.
“People are calling their families to let them know they're OK,”
McGuire said. “I called my wife, called my son, called people
that I knew were wanting to know if I was OK. We're all doing
that.”
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White reported from Detroit.
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