An armed man’s pistol failed to fire inside Nashville’s federal courthouse, and a security officer shot him dead when he charged with a knife.
Story Highlights
- Jack Henson II, 42, tried to fire a pistol inside the building, but it did not go off.
- He pulled a knife and charged a security officer, ignoring orders to stop, the U.S. Marshals Service said.
- He never got past the security checkpoint, and no one else was hurt.
- He was not a U.S. Marshal. The Marshals Service says he had no known tie to the agency or the courthouse.
A Pistol That Failed To Fire
Around 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, October 8, a man walked into the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building and Courthouse on Church Street in downtown Nashville. Police said he had no case there and was not due before a judge. He raised a pistol and tried to fire it, but it did not go off. He then pulled a knife. Investigators have not released a motive.
That evening, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, or TBI, the state agency leading the case, named him as Jack Henson II, 42. He was from out of state, and his car carried North Carolina plates. Police said he had ties to Nashville but did not say what they were.
How The Officer Stopped Him
The U.S. Marshals Service, the federal agency that protects federal judges and courthouses, said Henson charged toward one of its contracted security officers. That is a guard who works for the agency under contract, not a sworn deputy marshal.
The officer ordered him to stop. When he kept coming, the officer fired his service weapon and hit him. Marshals Service staff gave first aid until paramedics arrived. Henson was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died. The Marshals Service said no one else was hurt.
Police said he never made it past the security checkpoint at the entrance. His car was parked on the sidewalk out front. Officers and police dogs searched it and found nothing dangerous. The Nashville Public Library’s main branch across the street was cleared while police checked the car, and it stayed closed for the rest of the day.
He Was Not A U.S. Marshal
Within hours, some posts and websites claimed the gunman was a U.S. Marshal. That claim was false. The Marshals Service said Henson had no known connection to the agency or to the courthouse. The agency’s only part in the story was on the other side of the gun: its officer is the one who stopped him.
Rob McGuire, the U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, is the top federal prosecutor for Nashville and central Tennessee. He said the attack caused anxiety for him and his colleagues, and that people inside were calling their families to tell them they were okay.
What Investigators Do Next
The TBI is looking at the facts of the shooting, any motive and Henson’s ties to Nashville. Police have not said whether he was after anyone in particular inside the building.
When that work is done, the TBI will hand its findings to the district attorney general, the local prosecutor who decides whether the officer’s use of force was lawful. The TBI says it “acts solely as fact-finders” and does not make that call itself.
Why The Checkpoint Mattered
Two things went right on Thursday morning. The gun failed, and the screening line held. Henson never got beyond the front entrance, where everyone is checked before reaching the courtrooms.
For people who back law and order, this is the system doing its job. A trained officer gave a clear order, then acted when it was ignored. Everyone else in the building went home to their families. Finding out why Henson came is now the TBI’s job.
Sources:
usmarshals.gov, fbi.gov, volunteerstatenews.com
