Nathan, Jarrad During a standoff with law enforcement, a shooter broke into the Fox News office in Memphis and fired an AR-15 before running to a nearby restaurant’s restroom.
The 26-year-old Jarrad Nathan showed up at the FOX13 offices and claimed to have heard from God about Tyre Nichols’ death in Memphis in January. He then fired a bullet through a keycard-accessible bulletproof glass door, striking the front desk.
Tuesday morning at 11.30 was the time of the incident, and Nathan was found around two hours later. Mentally ill Nathan hurried to a nearby Ubee’s restaurant and posted a now-deleted Facebook Live video of himself being locked inside.
Police were able to defuse the situation and arrest Nathan when his mother Marsha McKinney was sent to the scene to help with talks. In court on Wednesday, Nathan was accused with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.
Nathan can be seen firing a round through the door in surveillance video taken inside the Fox office, sending the receptionists running in fear. He starts kicking and pulling on the door, trying in vain to get inside.
According to CCTV footage from outside the facility, Nathan was delivered to the station in a gray SUV and walked with a limp toward the building. His right hand is seen holding what looks to be a pistol. While the incident was happening, people were evacuated from the building; however, after Nathan barricaded himself in the restaurant, they were allowed to return.
The neighborhood’s major thoroughfare was also shut down. Ron Crawford, the production manager for Fox13, ran into Nathan outside the station after the shot was fired.
The shooter claimed, “God has told me that I must communicate a message to the world.” Crawford responded, ‘I said no, you can’t come in, but I can take your message. He wanted to enter the station. I told him no, you can’t.
Crawford said, “I saw that guy still had the firearm on him. One of the witnesses said that other people entered the lobby from our newsroom and shouted, “Get away from him, he shot into the building.”
During the 16-minute Facebook Live video from inside the restaurant, which has since been deleted, Nathan videotaped himself yelling at police: “I need to talk to the news people!” He also disregarded police requests for him to hand over his weapon. He was taken into custody at 1:30 p.m.
Authorities are currently looking into how Nathan got the gun. He may be seen posing with various weapons on his Facebook page, Jay Nathan, including an AR-15-style rifle and a pistol. If the gun was used in the incident is unknown.
According to McKinney, her son was shot eight times two months ago and has battled mental health challenges ever since he was a toddler. ‘Everyone has a dark side, even the nicest, kindest (men),’ she said. His mother will get him some help today.
“I think my son is calling out for attention because he needs help. This serves as an example of why his father ought to have been there. You model manliness for your sons. They need their fathers to… It has not been an easy journey being a parent.
The gunman’s father and stepmother also spoke with officials there. Nathan is being detained in exchange for a $275k bond. He said that he was “dead broke” and could not afford to post a bond. He appeared before the court in a wheelchair. Police stated that there were no wounds when he was taken into custody.
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