NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Authorities have identified the man fatally shot by a federal security officer at the downtown Nashville federal courthouse as Jack Henson II, a 42-year-old from Siler City, N.C., after an attempted attack Thursday morning.
Just before 9:30 a.m., Jack Henson II entered the courthouse on Church Street holding both a gun and a knife, according to a local account of the Thursday incident. When the confrontation escalated, a federal security officer fired and hit Henson. Paramedics took Henson to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead, and no officers were hurt.
A second account said the 42-year-old allegedly tried to fire a gun in the lobby, but it jammed, then pulled a knife before the security officer shot him. Officials said there is no obvious connection between Henson and the federal courthouse and that he was not on the docket for any hearings.
TBI investigators are now working to gather evidence and interview witnesses about what led to the shooting. A background check found no criminal record for Henson in Tennessee and only a couple of traffic tickets plus underage drinking charges in North Carolina, according to investigators.
After the shooting, officers cleared Henson parked car with K-9 teams before reopening the downtown perimeter. Motive remains unresolved, and federal and state investigators continue reviewing the security response at the Church Street building.
Residents and downtown workers should treat the Church Street federal complex as under heightened scrutiny while TBI finishes collecting evidence. Officials have not announced any broader public threat tied to the vehicle search.
