Michigan Shooting: Inmate kills Two Bailiffs

Michigan Shooting: Inmate kills Two Bailiffs

  • By Sydny Shepard
  • Jul 12, 2016

Two court bailiffs and a deputy were injured July 11 after an inmate grabbed the deputy’s gun outside a holding cell in a Michigan courthouse, Berrien County Sheriff L. Pail Bailey said.

After shooting the officers, inmate Larry Darnell Gordon tried to take hostages in the courtroom area, where he shot a civilian woman in the arm. When he tried to flee from the courtroom, he was shot and killed by other bailiffs, Bailey said.

Gordon, 45, had been taken from a holding cell and was being moved to a third-floor courtroom for an arraignment hearing when he began struggling with the deputy. It was there, in an area not accessible to the public, that he shot the officers.

From there he ran down a public corridor and attempted to take hostages for “about five minutes.”

Bailey said that Gordon had not been handcuffed at the time of the incident. When asked if any rules had been violated in handling prisoners, Bailey said, "We had no information he was going to be violent and not everybody who goes into the courtroom is handcuffed."

Michigan State Police and other agencies are investigating the incident as of July 12. The courthouse remained closed while the crime scene is processed.

Michigan Supreme Court Chief Justice Robert P. Young, Jr. released a statement late Monday morning expressing condolences to those deceased, but also explaining how dangerous the duties of court officials are.

"This tragic incident is another sad reminder that courthouse employees put their lives at risk every day to serve the people of Michigan.” Young said. “As we await further details and the results of the ongoing State Police investigation, we stand ready to implement steps to further strengthen courthouse security to better protect both employees and the public."

About the Author

Sydny Shepard is the Executive Editor of Campus Security & Life Safety.

Featured

  • Achieving Clear Audio

    In today’s ever-changing world of security and risk management, effective communication via an intercom and door entry communication system is a critical communication tool to keep a facility’s staff, visitors and vendors safe. Read Now

  • Beyond Apps: Access Control for Today’s Residents

    The modern resident lives in an app-saturated world. From banking to grocery delivery, fitness tracking to ridesharing, nearly every service demands another download. But when it comes to accessing the place you live, most people do not want to clutter their phone with yet another app, especially if its only purpose is to open a door. Read Now

  • Survey: 48 Percent of Worshippers Feel Less Safe Attending In-Person Services

    Almost half (48%) of those who attend religious services say they feel less safe attending in-person due to rising acts of violence at places of worship. In fact, 39% report these safety concerns have led them to change how often they attend in-person services, according to new research from Verkada conducted online by The Harris Poll among 1,123 U.S. adults who attend a religious service or event at least once a month. Read Now

  • AI Used as Part of Sophisticated Espionage Campaign

    A cybersecurity inflection point has been reached in which AI models has become genuinely useful in cybersecurity operation. But to no surprise, they can used for both good works and ill will. Systemic evaluations show cyber capabilities double in six months, and they have been tracking real-world cyberattacks showing how malicious actors were using AI capabilities. These capabilities were predicted and are expected to evolve, but what stood out for researchers was how quickly they have done so, at scale. Read Now

  • Why the Future of Video Security Is Happening Outside the Cloud

    For years, the cloud has captivated the physical security industry. And for good reasons. Remote access, elastic scalability and simplified maintenance reshaped how we think about deploying and managing systems. Read Now

Most   Popular

New Products

  • EasyGate SPT and SPD

    EasyGate SPT SPD

    Security solutions do not have to be ordinary, let alone unattractive. Having renewed their best-selling speed gates, Cominfo has once again demonstrated their Art of Security philosophy in practice — and confirmed their position as an industry-leading manufacturers of premium speed gates and turnstiles.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.

  • QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC)

    The latest Qualcomm® Vision Intelligence Platform offers next-generation smart camera IoT solutions to improve safety and security across enterprises, cities and spaces. The Vision Intelligence Platform was expanded in March 2022 with the introduction of the QCS7230 System-on-Chip (SoC), which delivers superior artificial intelligence (AI) inferencing at the edge.