Judge, Two Others Fatally Shot at Atlanta Courthouse

Judge, Two Others Fatally Shot at Atlanta Courthouse
Deputy Wounded; Authorities Search for Suspect
By HARRY WEBER, AP


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<!-- PARAGRAPH OBJECT --><!-- Type: htmlblock --><!-- Id: 11476 --><!-- Alignment/Wrap: right/1 --><!-- /PARAGRAPH OBJECT -->ATLANTA (March 11) - A judge, court reporter and deputy were killed and another deputy was wounded Friday in a shooting at the Fulton County Courthouse in downtown Atlanta. Authorities were hunting for the gunmen.

The judge, later identified as Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes, was shot on the eighth floor of the courthouse, while one of the deputies was shot on a street corner just outside the building, said Officer Alan Osborne with the Atlanta Police Department.

Authorities were searching for a green Honda Accord that was carjacked from a newspaper reporter.

Fulton County Sheriff's Lt. Clarence Huber identified the suspect as 33-year-old Brian Nichols, who was on trial on rape charges stemming from an incident in August. It was not immediately known how the suspect got a gun.

James Bailey, a juror in the trial, said the jury was not in the courtroom at the time of the shooting. Nichols, who also faced charges of sodomy, possession of a machine gun, possession of a handgun, and possession of a large quantity of marijuana, had not taken the stand yet in the trial, which started Tuesday.

Bailey said Nichols made him and other jurors nervous. ''Every time he looked up, he was staring at you,'' Bailey said.

Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor announced the shootings on the floor of the Georgia Senate. ''It appears that Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes has lost his life, along with his court reporter,'' Taylor told lawmakers.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution newsroom staff was being told that Don O'Briant, a features reporter for the paper, was beaten by the suspect and carjacked outside the courthouse. Mike King, an editorial board member for the paper, said O'Briant was taken to Grady Hospital.

Atlanta Police Sgt. John Quigley said one of the deputies died at the hospital later. He said the second deputy was grazed by a bullet and was being treated at the hospital.

''I saw one person on the street that they were perfoming CPR on,'' said court reporter Amy McKee.

District Attorney spokesman Erik Friedly said the shootings started shortly after 9 a.m. on the building's eighth floor.

''We heard some noise. It sounded like three or four shots. At the time, we thought it was just an engine backfiring,'' said Chuck Cole, a civil defense attorney who was in an adjoining parking deck when he heard gunfire at around 9:10 a.m.

All the judges in the building were locked in their chambers. The courthouse and other buildings in downtown Atlanta were on lockdown. Traffic in the blocks surrounding the courthouse was backed up as police cruisers flooded the area looking for the suspect.

Among the recent cases that Judge Barnes handled was the sentencing of Atlanta Thrashers player Dany Heatley, who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide in the death of a teammate.

Barnes, 64, also drew national attention last month when he took the unusual step of ordering a mother of seven who pleaded guilty to killing her 5-week-old daughter to have a medical procedure that would prevent her from having more children.

Barnes was named to the Fulton County Superior Court bench on July 10, 1998. He also worked as a part-time Fulton County Magistrate and City Court Judge in Hapeville and Fairburn. Barnes was a 1972 graduate of Emory Law School in Atlanta and a graduate of Lebanon Valley College.

What a tragedy!

The Deputy who tried to stop him at the entrance to the courthouse was just pronounced dead at Grady Hospital....thats four dead...sad day in the ATL.

Going for a walk.

This depresses me.

Later,
---FISH---

Going for a walk

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A nice day for one in TAMPA.

Glaken said:

The Deputy who tried to stop him at the entrance to the courthouse was just pronounced dead at Grady Hospital....thats four dead...sad day in the ATL.

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Not sure about the fourth DOA now, getting conflicting reports from Fox and local stations.

Another one of those national tragedy days in the crime crazy United States...sickening

This Is Just Sickening...another Judge Who Had His Life Trying To Be Taken. What In The World Is Going On.....last Week In Chicago The Husband And Mother Of A Judge Get's Killed. Are We Now Planting Seed's With The Coverage Of These Item's..............g.

If this continues, do you think that the judges will feel pressured to let more people off?

If they have a high profile case for a big drug dealer or mafia guy, will that affect their decision? Do they think that they will get wacked?


I think this is a trend that will not slow down. A real shame.



Sol II

Seriously, Why Not Put The Judge Behind A Bullet Proof Glass? Similar To Bank Tellers? Oh, Thats Right, It Would Make Too Much Sense!

DELSOL II said:

If this continues, do you think that the judges will feel pressured to let more people off?

If they have a high profile case for a big drug dealer or mafia guy, will that affect their decision? Do they think that they will get wacked?


I think this is a trend that will not slow down. A real shame.



Sol II

Click to expand...

Sad, but true.

Geesh!

Not sure a gun needs to be in a courtroom at all, even by a policeman. Just like in prisons, usually guns are not carried by guards. Only from observation areas.

I think people will finally start to realize how dangerous it is to be a Judge, Prosecutor, and Court official. The Courtroom is perhaps the only place were one can witness the intersection of crime and civilization on a daily basis; and for the second time in two weeks we are reminded of the risk.

G