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Nashville courthouse footage shows armed man rushing security officer before fatal shooting

Newly released footage shows Jack Gregory Henson displaying a knife and gun at a downtown Nashville courthouse security checkpoint before a U.S. Marshals Service-affiliated officer shot him. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is examining the Oct. 8 shooting, and officials have not said why Henson came to Nashville or whether he was targeting anyone.

Nashville courthouse footage shows armed man rushing security officer before fatal shooting
A man who was fatally shot by a security officer at Nashville’s Fred D. Thompson Federal Courthouse first displayed a knife and a gun at a security checkpoint, then rushed toward the officer with the knife raised, according to video released Monday by state and federal prosecutors. The shooting happened shortly before 9:30 a.m. Oct. 8 at the downtown courthouse. The man, identified by officials as 41-year-old Jack Gregory Henson, was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he died. The video appears to show Henson pointing the weapons at security officers before approaching one of them. The officer fires, and Henson falls. The footage has no sound. Officials said the firearm was loaded and had a spent cartridge casing in its cylinder. A joint statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee and the District Attorney General’s Office for the 20th Judicial District said investigators do not currently believe Henson fired the gun inside the courthouse. Nashville police have said he tried to fire it, but it did not discharge. The gun was a North American Arms .22 revolver that Henson bought from a licensed dealer in North Carolina in February 2022, officials said. Its handle could fold over the firearm; when opened into firing position, the trigger and trigger guard were exposed. The officer who fired works in coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service but is not a deputy U.S. marshal, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The officer has not been identified. Officials have not said how many shots were fired, why Henson traveled to Nashville or whether he had a specific target. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is investigating the shooting. Officials have described Henson as being from out of state.

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