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Two Killed in Las Vegas Courthouse
A gunman opened fire Monday morning in the lobby of the Federal Courthouse in downtown Las Vegas, killing a court security officer and wounding a deputy United States marshal before fleeing. He was then shot in the head and killed nearby.
“The suspect was in the lobby, but he never made it past the security checkpoint,” said Barbara Morgan, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas police.
The building is a huge structure that houses federal courts as well as other agencies, including the offices of Senators Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, and John Ensign, a Republican. Both Senators were in Nevada, their offices said, but not in the building.
The gunman entered the building shortly after it opened at 8 a.m. and began firing in the lobby. An Associated Press reporter within sight of the building counted 20 shots over several minutes, although it was unclear how many were fired by the gunman and how many by responding law enforcement officials.
Paramedics rushed at least two people down a ramp to waiting ambulances, where they were taken to the trauma unit of the University Medical Center. Federal officials confirmed that the security officer, who was 65, had died.
There was no immediate word on the identity of the suspect, or whether the shooting was a random act of violence, a vendetta or something else.
“We do not know the motive for the shooting at this time,” Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the United States Marshals in Washington, said in a statement. “The investigation into the shooting is still under way.” Mr. Carter said names of the dead would not be released until next-of kin are notified.
By noon local time, the deputy marshal was in stable condition, Mr. Carter said.
Joseph Dickey, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that seven marshals and security officers chased after the suspect, and that he dropped down across the street from the courthouse, in front of a historic elementary school. The gunman, he said, died shortly after the shootout.
"At this point, we believe it was a lone gunman, a criminal act, not a terrorist act,” Mr. Dickey said.
After the shootout, police and federal agents poured through the building looking for signs of any other suspects, but none were found.
Roxana Lea Irwin, chief deputy United States marshal for the Nevada district said she saw shotgun casings on the lobby floor, an indication of the kind of weapon that was used.
Two hours after the shooting, the complex was still being evacuated floor by floor, with groups of about 20 people being escorted several blocks away while surrounded by several officers toting large rifles. The courthouse was blocked off for at least a five-block perimeter. Police and news helicopters circled overhead. A 16-story state and local courthouse two blocks away was locked down as a precaution.
The building, the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse, at 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, is blocks from several casinos, including Fitzgeralds Casino and Hotel and the Plaza Hotel and Casino. It is also close to the University Medical Center and the Valley Hospital Center.
The courthouse — with its giant articulated column and circular atrium entrance shaded by a canopy in line with the roof — is architecturally significant, having received a citation for design excellence from the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on Architecture for Justice.
United States marshals provide security at courthouses and for federal judges. They also transport federal prisoners, hunt for fugitives, protect witnesses and handle any seizures of property required by federal courts or agencies. The security officer who was slain was a deputized contract officer. Most such guards are retired police or other law enforcement officers, Mr. Carter said.
The last time an employee of the marshal’s service was shot on the job was in 1993, when a security guard was killed at the Federal Building in Topeka, Kan., he said.
In a video on YouTube, a passerby who said he was standing a block away from the courthouse on Monday posted a clip of what seemed like a routine street scene. But a barrage of more than a dozen shots could be heard throughout.
“The suspect was in the lobby, but he never made it past the security checkpoint,” said Barbara Morgan, a spokeswoman for the Las Vegas police.
The building is a huge structure that houses federal courts as well as other agencies, including the offices of Senators Harry Reid, the Democratic majority leader, and John Ensign, a Republican. Both Senators were in Nevada, their offices said, but not in the building.
The gunman entered the building shortly after it opened at 8 a.m. and began firing in the lobby. An Associated Press reporter within sight of the building counted 20 shots over several minutes, although it was unclear how many were fired by the gunman and how many by responding law enforcement officials.
Paramedics rushed at least two people down a ramp to waiting ambulances, where they were taken to the trauma unit of the University Medical Center. Federal officials confirmed that the security officer, who was 65, had died.
There was no immediate word on the identity of the suspect, or whether the shooting was a random act of violence, a vendetta or something else.
“We do not know the motive for the shooting at this time,” Jeff Carter, a spokesman for the United States Marshals in Washington, said in a statement. “The investigation into the shooting is still under way.” Mr. Carter said names of the dead would not be released until next-of kin are notified.
By noon local time, the deputy marshal was in stable condition, Mr. Carter said.
Joseph Dickey, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that seven marshals and security officers chased after the suspect, and that he dropped down across the street from the courthouse, in front of a historic elementary school. The gunman, he said, died shortly after the shootout.
"At this point, we believe it was a lone gunman, a criminal act, not a terrorist act,” Mr. Dickey said.
After the shootout, police and federal agents poured through the building looking for signs of any other suspects, but none were found.
Roxana Lea Irwin, chief deputy United States marshal for the Nevada district said she saw shotgun casings on the lobby floor, an indication of the kind of weapon that was used.
Two hours after the shooting, the complex was still being evacuated floor by floor, with groups of about 20 people being escorted several blocks away while surrounded by several officers toting large rifles. The courthouse was blocked off for at least a five-block perimeter. Police and news helicopters circled overhead. A 16-story state and local courthouse two blocks away was locked down as a precaution.
The building, the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse, at 333 Las Vegas Boulevard South, is blocks from several casinos, including Fitzgeralds Casino and Hotel and the Plaza Hotel and Casino. It is also close to the University Medical Center and the Valley Hospital Center.
The courthouse — with its giant articulated column and circular atrium entrance shaded by a canopy in line with the roof — is architecturally significant, having received a citation for design excellence from the American Institute of Architects’ Committee on Architecture for Justice.
United States marshals provide security at courthouses and for federal judges. They also transport federal prisoners, hunt for fugitives, protect witnesses and handle any seizures of property required by federal courts or agencies. The security officer who was slain was a deputized contract officer. Most such guards are retired police or other law enforcement officers, Mr. Carter said.
The last time an employee of the marshal’s service was shot on the job was in 1993, when a security guard was killed at the Federal Building in Topeka, Kan., he said.
In a video on YouTube, a passerby who said he was standing a block away from the courthouse on Monday posted a clip of what seemed like a routine street scene. But a barrage of more than a dozen shots could be heard throughout.
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