A suspected gunman and two women were killed after shots were fired inside a Wilmington courthouse.
Delaware State Police Sgt. Paul Shavack said officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter before he passed metal detectors. Shavack did not say whether the shooter killed the two women or whether they were killed in the gunfire. Shavack also did not say how the shooter died.
Shavack said police had not confirmed that one of the women was the shooter’s estranged wife, though earlier in the day the city’s mayor said that was the case. Two police officers suffered injuries that were not life threatening.
A security guard was also hit in the gunfire and had his cheek grazed by a bullet, Wilmington Mayor Dennis Williams said. Delaware Gov. Jack Markell condemned the violence. “Our thoughts and prayers right now are with the victims of this senseless violence and the Capitol Police officers who put their lives on the line to protect the courts and public every day,” he said in a statement.
After the shooting, the building was put on lockdown as SWAT teams cleared floors, Fox 29 reports. Several people were taken for treatment to a local hospital with unknown injuries. Jose Beltran, 53, a court employee who works in the building, was entering the lobby Monday morning when he heard two shots. He said he turned around and ran.
“It happened so fast,” he said, adding he heard three or more shots as he ran. Dick Lawyer works across the street at the law office of Casarino, Christman, Shalk, Ransom & Doss and said his office building had been on lockdown since about 8:15 a.m. The shooting occurred about five minutes earlier. He said he and colleagues were shaken at first, but calmer hours later. “We have a couple of people whose relatives work at the courthouse,” he said.
via BlackMediaScoop
