NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A man armed with a pistol and knife was fatally shot by a security officer Thursday just inside the busy entrance of a federal courthouse in Tennessee’s largest city, authorities said.
The man in his 40s tried to fire his gun but failed and then pulled out a knife at 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.
The man 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.”
