Berrien County Courthouse shooter had hostages
Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey told FOX 2 News in Detroit that shooting suspect Larry Darnell Gordon held a couple of people hostage after he killed two bailiffs.
A sheriff deputy and a civilian were wounded during the shooting. Joseph Zangaro and Ronald Kienzle are the two bailiffs who were shot and killed by Gordon.
Both men were in their early sixties and had retired from their jobs with other police agencies in the state of Michigan.
Zangaro was a commander with the state police. Kienzle was an army veteran and former sergeant with the Benton Township Police Department.
Gordon was being escorted from his cell when he attacked the two bailiffs. Gordon overpowered a bailiff, took his gun, and began shooting.
Berrien County Prosecutor Michael J. Sepic said that other bailiffs killed Gordon while he was holding a person hostage.
Gordon was jailed on various sexual assault charges. Sepic said that for two weeks, Gordon held a 17-year-old girl captive in a shed on his property.
During the time he held the girl captive, Gordon gave the girl methamphetamine and videotaped himself sexually assaulting her.
The case involving the sexual assault of the 17-year-old girl also resulted in the police investigating if Gordon had a role in a similar case, which dated back to 2006, involving a 16-year-old girl.
Sepic said that charges had not been filed in the 2006 case. Gordon was a career criminal who, in 1992 and 1998, had been convicted by the federal government for having a pipe bomb.
Other crimes he had been convicted of included fleeing the police, a felon having a firearm, and stealing.
If Gordon had made it to trial and was convicted, the kidnapping and sexual assault charges alone could have landed Gordon in prison for life.
The shooting of the two bailiffs comes less than a week after five police officers were killed in Dallas during a protest march.
It also comes during a time when threats against police officers have increased. Gov. Rick Snyder acknowledged the increased concern police officers have about their safety.
Before rushing down to Berrien County to be with the officers, Snyder tweeted, “We all need to reach out and be supportive of law enforcement in our state and across the country…Today was a terrible day in a wonderful community.”
Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump also tweeted his support for the families and community members in Berrien County: “Thoughts and prayers with the victims, and their families-along with everyone at the Berrien County Courthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan.”
A sheriff deputy and a civilian were wounded during the shooting. Joseph Zangaro and Ronald Kienzle are the two bailiffs who were shot and killed by Gordon.
Both men were in their early sixties and had retired from their jobs with other police agencies in the state of Michigan.
Zangaro was a commander with the state police. Kienzle was an army veteran and former sergeant with the Benton Township Police Department.
Gordon was being escorted from his cell when he attacked the two bailiffs. Gordon overpowered a bailiff, took his gun, and began shooting.
Berrien County Prosecutor Michael J. Sepic said that other bailiffs killed Gordon while he was holding a person hostage.
Gordon was jailed on various sexual assault charges. Sepic said that for two weeks, Gordon held a 17-year-old girl captive in a shed on his property.
During the time he held the girl captive, Gordon gave the girl methamphetamine and videotaped himself sexually assaulting her.
The case involving the sexual assault of the 17-year-old girl also resulted in the police investigating if Gordon had a role in a similar case, which dated back to 2006, involving a 16-year-old girl.
Sepic said that charges had not been filed in the 2006 case. Gordon was a career criminal who, in 1992 and 1998, had been convicted by the federal government for having a pipe bomb.
Other crimes he had been convicted of included fleeing the police, a felon having a firearm, and stealing.
If Gordon had made it to trial and was convicted, the kidnapping and sexual assault charges alone could have landed Gordon in prison for life.
The shooting of the two bailiffs comes less than a week after five police officers were killed in Dallas during a protest march.
It also comes during a time when threats against police officers have increased. Gov. Rick Snyder acknowledged the increased concern police officers have about their safety.
Before rushing down to Berrien County to be with the officers, Snyder tweeted, “We all need to reach out and be supportive of law enforcement in our state and across the country…Today was a terrible day in a wonderful community.”
Presumptive Republican Presidential Nominee Donald Trump also tweeted his support for the families and community members in Berrien County: “Thoughts and prayers with the victims, and their families-along with everyone at the Berrien County Courthouse in St. Joseph, Michigan.”
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