The man who fired shots inside the Berrien County (Mich.) Courthouse Monday, killing two bailiffs and injuring two others, has been identified as Larry Darnell Gordon, WOOD TV reports.
According to the report, a deputy was escorting Gordon from a holding cell to the courtroom when Gordon overpowered the deputy, snatched his gun and started firing shots.
Bailiffs Joseph Zangaro and Ronald Kienzle were killed. James Atterberry Jr., a Berrien County deputy, was struck in the arm, and an unidentified woman was also injured. Gordon was shot and killed by another officer.
Gordon's ex-wife, Jessica, said that she was shocked but had had a feeling that her ex was involved upon hearing the news.
“He was an amazing man that got mixed up with the wrong people. He loved his children and me and his mother and sister with everything that he had,” Jessica Gordon told WOOD TV. “Our wedding anniversary would have been tomorrow.”
Jessica Gordon said she spoke to Larry Gordon Sunday and had no inkling that he was planning any attack.
“I believe he was probably terrified of having to go to prison and not seeing his family again,” Jessica Gordon said. “All he wanted to do was get home to our baby girl.”
Larry Gordon was facing two counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct, as well as charges of kidnapping, assault with a dangerous weapon and domestic violence.
“I just don’t want the press to paint a picture of him as an angry, violent person,” she said. “I don’t want the lies. I don’t want the speculation.”
However, she expressed condolences to the families of the bailiffs who were killed.
“I’m very sorry for their loss and their family’s loss. We are also grieving the loss of our loved one,” she said. “I have to believe with all my heart—he was terrified of not seeing his family again.”
Read more at WOOD TV.