Shot fired at Memphis TV station; suspect in custody

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WMC) - Police surrounded an area near the University of Memphis on Tuesday after a shooting at a TV station.

Fox affiliate WHBQ reports a shot was fired into their lobby, hitting a desk, but no one was injured.

Memphis police say the suspect was taken into custody after 1 p.m.

The alleged shooter’s mother identified him as 26-year-old Jarrad Nathan. She says he’s dealt with mental health issues for much of his life.

Police say the suspect wanted to speak with the news team, but ended up firing a shot into glass at the station with an AR-style rifle. It’s unclear if the shot was fired on accident or with malice.

“I think that my son is crying out for attention because he needs some help,” Marsha McKinney said. “Anybody that would come to the news and shoot at anybody for that is a cry for some help. And if he once again needs some help, and you’re telling me that was the case, then he needs some help.”

Police say the suspect was sheltered inside Ubee’s, a hamburger restaurant nearby, for more than an hour until crisis negotiators were able to convince him to turn himself in.

Police say Nathan is charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment.

University officials say police were called to the scene around 11:30 a.m. for an “active shooter situation.” Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were also at the scene.

Businesses in the area of Highland and Walker Avenue were placed on lockdown after the shot was fired.

An Ubee’s worker who’s only been on the job for two weeks said he was scared when police came in to evacuate the employees from the restaurant.

“We found out that dude hammering up in our building, so we check the bathrooms and we found out the bathroom was locked,” Jermaine Morris said. “So then we knew he was in there, so we took off. They told us they swarmed the whole building.”

Favour Oscar, a freshman at the university, said he has just finished a final exam and was walking down Highland to get a snack when the university sent an alert to his phone about the shooting.

“We’re still kind of children, you know. We’re just trying to figure out what life is. Now everyone is out running around. It’s like, life could end so abruptly with all the things going on around here,” Oscar said.

He said he’s ready to wrap up this school year after a few big incidents on campus.

Copyright 2023 WMC via Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.