Atlanta courthouse shooting

[maxpower]

on all news channels.
3 dead...suspect still on loose.

[Duff McCartney]

Wooo....glad I moved out of there.

[Useruser666]

They need those smart handguns in courthouses and public buildings.

[Clandestino]

Judge, 2 Others Killed at Atlanta Courthouse

1 hour, 38 minutes ago Top Stories - Reuters


By Karen Jacobs

ATLANTA (Reuters) - A man on trial for rape grabbed a deputy sheriff's gun and opened fire in an Atlanta courthouse on Friday, killing a judge and two other people before fleeing, authorities and witnesses said.


Reuters Photo


AP Photo
Slideshow: Judge Killed in Ga. Courthouse, Shooter Still At Large




Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and an unidentified court reporter died from gunshot wounds in the 9 a.m. shooting at Fulton County Courthouse, said Georgia Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor.


A Fulton County deputy sheriff also was killed and another wounded, Atlanta Police spokesman John Quigley said. The deputy who lost her gun was shot in the mouth but expected to survive, he said.


The suspect, identified by police as Brian Nichols, 33, escaped the court, gunning down the second deputy outside and then carjacking at least one vehicle, witnesses said. He also pistol-whipped a journalist during his escape.


Deronta Franklin was sitting in his tow truck near the court in downtown Atlanta when a man he identified as Nichols opened the door and pointed a gun at him. "He was calm and cool," Franklin told CNN. "He said 'Get out of the truck."'


Police in Georgia and neighboring states launched a massive manhunt for Nichols, appealing to the public to report any sightings. Electronic highway messages were posted with information on the vehicle Nichols was believed to be driving.


About 30 schools in Atlanta were locked down while authorities searched for the suspect.


The shooting occurred less than two weeks after the husband and mother of a federal judge in Chicago were shot to death.


Renee Rockwell, a defense lawyer, said she saw deputies running with their guns drawn as she walked into court. "They said 'the defendant got the deputy's gun and shot the judge."'


Nichols was on trial before Barnes for rape, assault, kidnapping and several other felonies.


Police said they did not know what had provoked the shooting or how Nichols had been able to get a gun. The suspect was being retried on rape, kidnapping and other charges after a hung jury last week.


A juror described the defendant's behavior in court as intense. "Every time any of us looked up we saw him looking for our reaction, which had made us a little nervous," juror James Bailey told CNN.


Barnes, 64, presided over a number of high-profile cases, including that of Atlanta Thrashers hockey player Dany Heatley, charged in a 2003 car crash that killed teammate Dan Snyder.


Last month, the judge ordered a woman who killed her 5-week-old daughter to undergo a medical procedure that would prevent her from having more children.


"He was one of the best judges I've worked with," said Steven Kellis, a defense lawyer and former prosecutor who argued cases before Barnes. "He was very fair to both defense lawyers and prosecutors." (Additional reporting by Jane Sutton and Jim Loney in Miami, Paul Simao in Atlanta and Doina Chiacu in Washington)

[ShoogarBear]

They need those smart handguns in courthouses and public buildings.

I think anything smart is illegal in Georgia.

[bigzak25]

catch and inject is called for, but i hope he gets gunned down by the cops. less red tape.

[Clandestino]

dumb chick cop!

[exstatic]

HE'S CAUGHT! - developing...

[NameDropper]

I keep flipping back and forth between CNN and MSNBC.. I really didn't think he would make it to the jail alive.

[desflood]

dumb chick cop!
Normally I would laugh like hell at this, but this one time it's not funny.

[Bluto Blutarsky]

wow, I didn't even know any of this happened. I have it on CNN right now too trying to figure out what happened.
Glad he's been caught.

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

They should have just put a couple of bullets in him and got it over with.

Send him to Texas, we'll take care of his sorry ass.

[IceColdBrewski]

I woulda bet money that he was going down in hail of bullets. What a coward.

[ducks]

bullets would have been
cheaper
now america tax payers will spend 1 million dollars on him before he dies or they have enough sence to put a ROPE around his neck






just maybe females should not be cops.....

[Aggie Hoopsfan]

Seriously, one of the SWAT boys should have said he saw him reaching for something and just got it over with.

[3rdCoast]

Word, I know if I was a cop I would do that, prolly a lot too.

[ClintSquint]

Seriously, one of the SWAT boys should have said he saw him reaching for something and just got it over with.

http://image.inkfrog.com/pix/josauce/csi.jpg