INMATE KILLS 2 BAILIFFS AT MICHIGAN COURTHOUSE #OBAMA #CRIME

VICTIMS IDENTIFIED

Three people are dead at the Berrien County, Mich., courthouse following a shooting, the county sheriff said. (WLS)

Updated 7 mins ago

ST JOSEPH, Mich. (WLS) --

An inmate was shot and killed after he fatally shot two bailiffs and injured a sheriff's deputy at the Berrien County, Mich., courthouse Monday afternoon.

Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey said around 2:30 p.m. an inmate was being transferred from a holding cell to a courtroom by a sheriff's deputy when he started a fight in the corridor. During that fight, the inmate, identified by the sheriff as Larry Darnell Gordon, 44, was able to take the deputy's gun which he used to shoot and injure the officer before shooting and killing two bailiffs a short distance away. Gordon then shot a civilian in the arm before two bailiffs and several other officers were able to take him down, according to the sheriff.

Larry Darnell Gordon (Berrien County Sheriff's Office)

Sheriff Bailey identified the two bailiffs killed as Joseph Zangaro, 61, and Ronald Kienzle, 63. Zangaro was head of courthouse security and working at the courthouse since 2004 and was a retired Michigan State Police officer. Kienzle had been a bailiff since 2005 and was a retired sergeant with the Benton Township Police Department and a U.S. Army veteran.

Ronald Kienzle, left, and Joseph Zangaro, right (via Facebook and The Herald Palladium)

The injured deputy was identified as James Atterberry, Jr., 41, who has been with the sheriff's department since 1998. Sheriff Bailey said Atterberry was in the Intensive Care Unit at Lakeland Hospital but doing well after undergoing surgery for gunshot injuries to his arm.

Sheriff Bailey said Gordon was in court to face numerous felony charges, but had not been a violent inmate in jail. The sheriff also said the shooting was an escape attempt.

The courthouse will be closed Tuesday.

Leroy Lane's wife works at the courthouse and was inside at the time of the shooting.

"She was crying and going on, and I told her immediately get off the phone. I instructed her to get off the phone, because if the shooter was on the loose I didn't want him hearing her voice on the phones. They were instructed to, wherever they were, lock all doors-go to the bathroom, lock the door and stay there, until they had other instructions come. I actually just talked to her again and she said everything was fine but they still haven't released her from the secluded area," said Lane.

St. Joseph is located in far southwestern Michigan's Berrien County, which borders Indiana.

All Cook County courthouses have been placed on heightened security which will remain in effect until further notice, according to the Cook County Sheriff's Department. The department also said, "Our thoughts and prayers are with the deputies' families and their fellow officers."

Rela