Armed man killed by security inside Nashville federal courthouse

A man walked into the lobby of the federal courthouse in downtown Nashville on Thursday morning, pulled out a pistol at the security checkpoint and tried to fire. The gun jammed. He pulled out a knife instead, charged at the security officer, and was shot dead.

The shooting happened just before 9:30 a.m. CT at the Fred D. Thompson U.S. Courthouse and Federal Building on Church Street, three blocks south of the Tennessee State Capitol. The man, 42, was from out of state, according to Metro Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron. The officer who fired was a contracted security officer working with the U.S. Marshals Service.

The Marshals Service said the man charged toward the officer, who ordered him to stop. When he refused, the officer fired his service weapon. Marshals personnel gave aid until paramedics arrived. The man was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in critical condition and later pronounced dead. No one else was hurt.

Police have not released the man's identity or a motive. He was not a litigant at the courthouse and was not on any docket, Aaron said. His car was found parked nearby and searched; officers found nothing threatening inside. The FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Metro police are working through his background, and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is leading the shooting investigation at the request of the district attorney and the Marshals.

First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire called the shooting unprecedented at the courthouse. The nearby main public library was evacuated and stayed closed for the day. "Right now there's a lot that we're still learning," McGuire told reporters.