Tennessee’s two FBI-designated active shooter incidents in 2025 unfolded in Nashville and Memphis, leaving one person dead and five others injured. The newly released federal accounting places the Antioch High School shooting inside a broader national increase in attacks that law enforcement says often show warning signs before gunfire begins.
According to a FOX 17 report, the FBI identified 34 active shooter incidents nationwide in 2025, up 42% from 24 in 2024. The FBI report says Tennessee was one of seven states, along with Washington, D.C., to record two incidents; only Texas had more, with six.
The first Tennessee incident occurred on January 22, 2025, at Antioch High School in Nashville. The FBI counted one student fatality and two student injuries after a 17-year-old student armed with a handgun opened fire in the cafeteria and died by suicide at the scene.
A year later, the Metro Nashville Police Department said its investigation found the student acted alone. Police said the shooting lasted about 17 seconds and involved 10 shots, while the department’s review examined the student’s writings and online activity as investigators worked to understand the attack.
The second incident took place on April 26, 2025, in Memphis, where a 24-year-old man armed with a handgun fired at people at multiple locations, according to the FBI. Action News 5 reported that three people were wounded during the roadway shooting spree before the suspect was arrested.
Businesses Were The Most Common National Target
Nationally, businesses accounted for 41% of the FBI’s 2025 active shooter incidents, making commerce the most common location category. Schools represented 12% of incidents, while open spaces, government facilities and houses of worship made up the rest.
The FBI also found that 23 of the 34 attacks—nearly 68%—were intentionally planned, up from 58% in 2024. The agency says its active shooter count is narrower than the broader universe of gun violence because it excludes categories such as domestic disputes, gang violence, drug-related shootings and incidents tied to another criminal act.
A Narrow Definition With A Heavy Local Impact
That distinction matters in Tennessee, where communities have also dealt with threats, gun seizures and other school-related incidents that do not necessarily meet the FBI’s active shooter standard. A prior Hoodline report examined that wider school-safety backdrop around the first anniversary of the Antioch shooting.
For Nashville and Memphis, the federal report is less a forecast than a formal record of two very different attacks in the same state. The FBI emphasized that many attackers display observable warning behaviors and said reporting concerning activity early remains one of the most effective ways to disrupt a planned shooting.
