A court security officer fatally shot an armed man who attempted to open fire inside the federal courthouse in Nashville on Oct. 8, police in Middle Tennessee said.
The shooting took place at the downtown Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse about 9:30 a.m. CT, and prompted officials to place the building on high alert as law enforcement secured the scene.
The building is about three blocks south of the Tennessee State Capitol building and just north of the city's bustling entertainment district.
Metro Nashville police public information officer Don Aaron told USA TODAY that a 42-year-old man from out of state entered the lobby of the courthouse, pulled a gun and pulled the trigger.
The gun jammed, Aaron said, and the man then pulled out a knife.
A security
guard, who Aaron said worked for the U.S. Marshals Service and was manning the checkpoint at the public entrance, opened fire on the man.
First responders transported the man to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in critical condition. He was later pronounced dead.
No other injuries were reported, Aaron said, and a motive in the incident was not immediately known.
"He was not a litigant at the courthouse ... not on the docket today. He was not there to appear for a judge," Aaron said, adding that the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Metro police were continuing to "explore his background."
As of early evening on Oct. 8, police had not released the man's identity, and Aaron said the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) was leading the shooting investigation.
Carley Gordon, deputy communications director with the TBI, confirmed that the state agency − at the request of 20th Judicial District Attorney General Glenn Funk and the U.S. Marshals Office − was investigating and would release more information when it becomes available.
Rob McGuire, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, called the shooting unprecedented.
“This is the first time anything like this has happened in this courthouse,” McGuire told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network. “We've been here since 2022. Certainly, we’ve had 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.”
Contributing: Evan Mealins, Kirsten Fiscus, Rachel Wegner and Elijah Carll with The Tennessean.
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at nalund@usatoday.com and follow her on X @nataliealund.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Man who pulled gun inside Nashville federal courthouse fatally shot
