Terrified staff at a Fox news office in Memphis were forced to flee for their lives after a gunman opened fire in their reception area.
The gunman stormed the headquarters of FOX13 on Tuesday (May 2) with an AR-15 and fired a round through a ballistic glass door in the reception area.
The man, identified by police as 26-year-old Jarrad Nathan, caused staff to run for cover as a bullet struck the front desk.
He then kicked and pulled at the door, which required a keycard to enter, in a failed attempt to gain entry to the offices.
He claimed that he had been given a message from God about the murder of Tyre Nichols in Memphis in January.
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After failing to gain entry, he ran to the nearby Ubee’s restaurant and barricaded himself inside the restroom.
Police called his mother, Marsha McKinney, to the restaurant to help with negotiations and were able to detain him after a two-hour stand-off.
He appeared in court on Wednesday (May 3) charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.
Surveillance footage from the reception area of the Fox office showed the moment he shot at the door.
Staff were evacuated as the drama unfolded, before being allowed back in 30 minutes later after Nathan fled to the restaurant.
Fox13 production manager Ron Crawford said he encountered the gunman outside the building and that Nathan said, “God’s told me that I need to tell the world a message”.
He said: “Some more individuals came out of our newsroom doors into the lobby area and said get away from him, he shot into the building.”
Nathan’s Facebook page, which uses the name Jay Nathan, shows him posing with several firearms including an AR-15 style rifle and a pistol.
McKinney said that her son has had mental health problems since he was young and that he was shot eight times two months ago.
“He’s one of the nicest, kindest (people, but) everybody has another side, too,” she told FOX13.
“I think that my son is crying out for attention because he needs some help.
“His mamma going to get him some help, today. This is a reflection of why his daddy should have been there. You teach your boys how to be men. They need their fathers. It has not been an easy road for me, as a parent.”
The gunman’s father and stepmother also spoke with police at the scene.
Nathan, who appeared in court in a wheelchair, is being held on $275,000 bond.
