The sheriff’s office has said investigators were still conducting interviews and gathering information and evidence from the July 11 shooting in Berrien County Circuit Court in St. Joseph.
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On the video, someone says “He’s got a gun, which is followed by a loud bang and “Please help me”. Hopefully I make it!”
Gordon was facing possible life in prison on rape and kidnapping charges involving a 17-year-old girl.
Neither videos showed the shooting deaths of bailiffs Joseph Zangaro or Ronald Kienzle, or the suspect, Larry Gordon.
Video from a lobby area shows Gordon running from a hallway door north of the courtroom and brushing past another bailiff who tries to swipe the gun from Gordon’s hand. Through this work, Sanders said, they discovered Zangaro and Kienzle had been shot and start life-saving measures on them, too.
“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot”, someone shouts, just before a gunshot rings out, sending people hiding or running from the courtroom. Some initially fled through a door, while others ducked beneath benches before court staff ordered them to leave.
In the lobby, Gordon tells police “I got hostages”, while pointing the gun at them. The bailiff draws his pistol and considers shooting Gordon but has concerns about the people in the background, according to Sanders. He eventually crosses to a southeast hallway, using a woman as a human shield with other hostages following. Three hostages follow Gordon to the same corner and disappear from view.
A bailiff said he “took the shot to save the hostage’s life”, Sanders told reporters.
“They continued to fire until (Gordon) was no longer a threat”. After a second gunshot, a woman is heard screaming, “Oh, my God”, after Kienzle is believed to have been shot.
Police had gone to his Coloma Township home to serve Gordon with a domestic violence warrant, prosecutors said earlier this month. Methamphetamine was found in the shed.
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In the letter to his ex-wife, Gordon wrote how much he will miss her and their daughter. “I don’t deserve that. That’s not living. I’m not going to do it”.
