A video that has recently gone viral depicts a man allegedly brandishing a firearm inside the Shelby County Criminal Justice Center, sparking widespread concern over security failures and lapses. Action News 5 shared content showing the man, whose identity is unknown, flaunting what appears to be a gun, eliciting local resident Mekose to remark, "[He’s] bullsh**ing, he tripping. Them folks ain’t supposed to be doing that." The troubling footage has prompted a community member, Erma Perry, to question the effectiveness of the justice center's standard security checks that she herself underwent. "They opened up my purse when I went in," Perry said. "They made me walk through a metal detector - it went off and I went back and walked through it again, so to me, if they can check me that well ... why they couldn’t catch him then if he had a gun?" according to Action News 5.
The Shelby County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) is to thoroughly investigate the incident, stating in a press release, "Getting to the bottom of this is our top priority and many leads are being explored at this moment." Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. emphatically underscored the gravity of the situation by stating, "Sneaking a firearm into a secure facility and broadcasting it on social media is a very serious threat to public safety," as reported by FOX13 Memphis. The video, which shows the man claiming the weapon to be full auto as he reveals a Glock switch, has not only triggered a criminal investigation but also an internal one to discover any system breaches that might have been exploited.
In addition to the security concerns, elected officials are now focusing on the role that mental health might play in such criminal behavior. Tennessee Representative London Lamar (D-Memphis) spoke to WREG about a wider societal approach, suggesting, "If we focus on mental health, if we focus on affordable housing, if we focus on bringing good jobs to Memphis. If we focus on feeding our kids, making sure parents know that they can read and write, then all of those things together are going to make the Memphis that we want to brag about." This was seconded by Shelby County General Sessions Court Clerk Tami Sawyer, who stated, "And so, I think it is important that we explore, you know, increasing mental health treatment in not just the courts, but in the community," in an interview with WREG.
