3 dead, 2 injured in shooting at Michigan courthouse

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By BNO NEWS

Two court bailiffs have been killed and two other people have been injured after an inmate being held at the Berrien County Courthouse in St. Joseph grabbed a deputy’s gun and opened fire, Michigan officials say. The inmate was shot and killed.

The incident began at 2:20 p.m. ET when the inmate was being moved from a holding cell on the third floor to one of the courtrooms. As a sheriff’s deputy secured the cell door behind him, the inmate began to fight and grabbed the deputy’s gun, according to county officials.

The inmate – whose identity was not immediately released – then opened fire inside a corridor, shooting the deputy and two court bailiffs. He then entered a hallway in an apparent attempt to flee from the courthouse, shooting one civilian before encountering deputies who shot and killed the suspect.

Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey, speaking at a press conference on early Monday evening, said the two bailiffs were killed while the sheriff’s deputy and the civilian suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The identities of the victims were not immediately released pending notification of next of kin.

Bailey said the suspect was facing multiple charges, but there was no immediate word on the exact nature of the charges.

St. Joseph is a city about 48 miles southwest of Kalamazoo, or 154 miles southwest of Detroit.

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