A Fox News affiliate in Memphis, Tennessee, was evacuated Tuesday after a man allegedly fired a gunshot at the building. No one was injured and the man was later arrested.
WHBQ-TV reported that the man, identified as Jarred Nathan, approached a station employee at the gate outside the building. Nathan showed the employee that he had a gun.
“The [WHBQ] employee then ended the conversation and left before Nathan went to the front of the building and fired a single shot,” the outlet reported.
Nathan then barricaded himself in a restaurant down the street. He was taken into police custody about two hours after allegedly firing the shot at the Fox building.
The suspect is in custody, according to police, who said he fired a single shot into @FOX13Memphis. https://t.co/SHZBWKEzq1
— Dakarai Turner (@Dakarai_Turner) May 2, 2023
“He wanted to meet with media. He had a message to send out,” Memphis Police Department Deputy Chief Stephen Chandler said after the incident, according to the Commercial Appeal.
Chandler said it was unclear if the shot was fired intentionally or by accident.
The Commercial Appeal reported that while locked in the bathroom of the restaurant, Nathan claimed in a Facebook Live video that he had information about “crooked cops” and demanded to talk to “news people.”
Chandler said no one was injured taking Nathan into custody.
He noted that the incident “was not an active shooter situation. But a round was fired into the building. There was nobody struck inside the building. The round impacted glass and the desk.”
Nathan’s mother Marsha McKinney said Nathan has long-standing mental health issues.
“I think the mental health problems started at 13, 14 years old,” McKinney said.
“It has not been an easy road for me as a parent to deal with my son. … All we can do is pray. I’ve been praying for my son because I have to do what the Lord wants me to do. Now I’ve got to put my foot in the trenches and do what needs to be done and take care of him.”
McKinney said her son is “not a bad person.”
“He’s one of the nicest people, but everyone has another side to them. I think that my son is crying out for attention because anybody that would come to a news place and shoot, that is a cry for some help,” she said.
The Commercial Appeal reported that a warrant was issued for Nathan’s arrest in March on a charge of aggravated assault, but no details were available.
