Man in custody after standoff with police at Ubee's restaurant near U of M, FOX13 station

The Memphis Police Department reported that a man believed to have shot at a local TV news outlet's office was placed into custody near the University of Memphis campus Tuesday afternoon on Highland Street and Mynders Avenue.

MPD identified the suspect as Jarrad Nathan and said he was charged with aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. Nathan's mother, Marsha McKinney, also identified him as the suspect.

In an automated text to students, sent just before 1:20 p.m., U of M said the "suspect is in custody. Crime scene will remain active for some time and Highland should still be avoided."

Around noon, Memphis police tweeted officers were at Ubee's restaurant, 521 S. Highland St., with a "potential armed party."

"We ask that everyone stay out of the area until the situation has been resolved," MPD tweeted. Highland was closed from Southern Avenue to Midland Avenue.

FOX13 News' station, which is near Ubee's, reported that the bullet "fell outside of the front door of the lobby," when "a shot was fired at the FOX13 station." The shooting, according to FOX13, took place around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday.

None of the FOX13 staff were injured, the station's reporting said.

FOX13 reporting said the alleged gunman walked up to a FOX13 employee outside of the gate that surrounds the station and tried to speak with them. Then, FOX13 said, the man showed the employee a gun.

"The FOX13 employee then ended the conversation and left before the suspect went to the front of the building and fired a single shot," the news outlet's article read.

A building away, Ubee's employees were having a normal day, one employee, who wished to remain anonymous, told reporters.

"It was just a regular day at work. I was in the back and I didn't see anybody come in," the employee said. "My prep cook was somewhere where he could see somebody come in. And he saw someone, I guess, who came in and went straight to the restroom."

People come in and use the restrooms frequently, he said. But minutes later, he said, his boss called and told him to lock the doors because of an active shooter alert.

At that moment, 20 to 30 squad cars sped up to the area, he said.

As police approached the building, the prep cook then mentioned aloud someone had run inside the restroom minutes earlier. The door was locked and the prep cook heard heavy breathing. The police confirmed a suspect was in the bathroom a few minutes later.

When the man ran into Ubee's, a Facebook account under the name "Jay Nathan" went on live.

The live showed a man inside of what appeared to be a bathroom in a business, shouting his insistence to speak with "news people."

Mat Miller, the general manager at Ubee's, said he was not present when the man ran inside the restaurant and locked himself in the bathroom, but that another manager and two cooks were in the building. Miller also said an employee called the police and staff quickly evacuated.

At the beginning of the live, the suspect was heard repeatedly saying, “I need to talk to the news people. I got some information. I need to talk to the news people.”

He attempted to leave the bathroom and was met by shouting from people, likely officers, to drop his weapon.

“I ain’t doing (expletive deleted),” the suspect said repeatedly after going back inside of the locked bathroom.

He continued to demand to talk to news people several times before warning those outside the bathroom that he had “back up on the way.”

“I have information,” he said, “about crooked-ass police officers.”

A short while later, he said, “I need a camera in here now! I’m not doing (expletive deleted), y’all gonna have to kill me.”

He continued to yell for several minutes, asserting his need to talk to FOX13 reporters about alleged evidence pointing to “crooked cops.”

The scene on the Highland Strip

Employees who work at businesses located on the Highland Strip told a reporter from The Commercial Appeal that everyone had been evacuated from the area.

A helicopter was spotted in the area, and reporters from various local outlets were pushed farther away from the scene. Some apartments were inside the police tape, and residents were asked to stay inside their building or leave the established perimeter.

An MPD mobile command center was stationed on Walker Avenue and Highland just before 1 p.m. Tuesday.

A Humvee approached Ubee's around 1:15 p.m., and police could be heard shouting for an ambulance to be let through. Moments later, a stretcher was taken into the restaurant.

Man believed to have shot at FOX13 station arrested, mother and police speak

Nathan, 26, has had mental health issues since he was young and received treatment at Lakeside. He was shot in March by a friend of his father, according to his mother Marsha McKinney.

"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 she wanted people to know Nathan is not a bad person.

"I want [people] to know he's not a bad person," she said. "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."

In a press conference, MPD Deputy Chief Stephen Chandler consoled McKinney, saying, "He's going to be OK." Chandler said crisis negotiators were called into the Ubee's and were able to get Nathan into custody without injuries to him or officers.

"[Nathan] was checked out by Memphis Fire Department and is currently en route for questioning," he said. "[Nathan] wanted to meet with media, he had a message to send out. Obviously he was armed at the time and caused a bit of concern on the part of FOX news. I don't know whether it was an intentional firing, this 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."

Chandler said the gun was "an AR-style rifle."

What do we know about Jarrad Nathan?

According to public records, a warrant was issued for Nathan’s arrest in March of this year for aggravated assault. That warrant remains open and no additional details were immediately available.

Nathan had also previously been cited for driving without a license and for driving with a license that has been suspended or revoked. Records also indicate previous environmental summonses for failure to obtain a dog license, put a tag on a dog, violating spay and neuter ordinances and failure to provide adequate food, water and shelter for an animal.

Records also show Nathan had been involved in two civil disputes with a previous landlord in 2018.

Nathan’s Facebook page indicates he attended Kirby High School and that he has a son, who he said “is my world.” Many photos on the page show a young boy or Nathan with a young boy. At least three photos on the page show what appears to be Nathan with a firearm.

Photos from June 2020 also show Nathan wearing a cap and gown and what appears to be a screenshot of a Facebook Live graduation ceremony for LeMoyne-Owen College. The screen grab reads “Jarrad Nathan BA, Criminal Justice Memphis, TN.”

This story will be updated.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Man in custody after standoff with police at Ubee's near U of M and Fox13