A man armed with a pistol and a knife was shot and killed by a security guard at a federal courthouse in Nashville on Thursday morning.
The man has not been identified by police, but he was reportedly in his 40s and from out of state. He attempted to bypass a security checkpoint at the Fred D. Thompson Federal Building & Courthouse in Music City, according to Nashville Metropolitan Police Public Affairs Director Don Aaron.
Aaron said during a press conference that the incident unfolded around 9:30 a.m. when the suspect attempted to breach one of the main entrances at the courthouse. The individual then attempted to fire his pistol, but the gun jammed.
After attempts to fire his gun failed, the suspect then took out a knife and charged at an officer guarding the door.
“The security individual fired on the armed individual,” Aaron said, adding that the suspect was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
The library next to the courthouse was closed as a result of the incident.
Following the incident, Aaron said police searched the suspect’s car left near the scene, but found “nothing threatening.”
Police have not yet declared a motive for the shooting attempt, and an investigation is underway.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Rob McGuire said during a press conference Thursday afternoon that the attempted shooting was a first, saying that “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.”
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Aaron said the investigation will be led by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
“Obviously, someone who is armed and brings a firearm into a federal courthouse is not acceptable, and we’re going to have to get to the bottom of what happened and then act accordingly,” McGuire said.