Aug. 21 (UPI) — An Ohio judge was shot outside of a courthouse Monday before police returned fire and killed the suspected gunman, authorities said.
Judge Joseph J. Bruzzese Jr. of the Common Pleas Court was shot in an alley outside the Jefferson County Courthouse Monday morning in an ambush-style assault, Steubenville City Manager James Mavromatis said.
Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdella said Bruzzese fired five shots with his own weapon at the gunman.
Officials said the assailant fired five bullets before he was shot dead. A probation officer at the scene also fired shots.
Bruzzese was airlifted to a Pittsburgh-area hospital, about 40 miles away. His condition was not immediately disclosed.
Citing video of the attack, Adbella said, “You see the attacker coming up toward him [Bruzzese}. I’d say he was the intended target.”
A person sitting in the suspect’s vehicle was struck by a ricochet bullet and hospitalized. That person and the suspect have criminal records, officials said. Neither was identified.
