Shooting in Las Vegas Federal Courthouse
Yesterday a man entered the Lloyd D. George U.S. District Courthouse, pulled a shotgun and killed a security officer and injured a deputy U.S. Marshal before being killed himself. It's not believed the shooting was related to organized terrorism, and reports indicate that there have been no threats leading up to this attack. The building was evacuated and remained closed for the remainder of the day.
Nevada Senator Harry Reid, who has an office in the courthouse, said, "The law enforcement personnel who protect the courthouse put their lives at risk every day to keep the people who are inside safe, and I greatly appreciate their service." U.S. Marshals Service Director John F. Clark released a statement as well: "I can receive no news more grim or sobering than word of a line-of-duty death or injury to our U.S. Marshals personnel. ... Rest assured, the brave and immediate actions of these two individuals saved lives by stopping the threat of a reckless and callous gunman who had no regard for who or how many victims were struck down by his senseless actions. They are heroes."
Had the suspect lived, he'd surely face charges for breaking Nevada homicide law. Nevada homicide law divides murder into first and second degree. First degree murder comprises cases where the suspect killed with malice aforethought or committed the killing while executing another felony. Second degree includes every other kind of murder. Penalties for breaking first degree Nevada homicide law include death, life in prison, or fifty years in prison, with or without the possibility of parole after twenty years.
