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A Jail Break Gone Bad in St. Joe

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It now appears that today's tragic incident at the Berrien County Courthouse was actually a botched attempt at a jailbreak as a prisoner headed for arraignment on felony charges overpowered a Berrien County Sheriff's Deputy, wounded him and then shot and killed two retired veteran police officers serving as Court Bailiffs before briefly taking hostages and then being killed himself while trying to make a run for it.

Retired Bridgman State Police Post Commander Joe Zangaro and fellow bailiff retired Benton Township Police Sergeant Ron Kienzle were gunned down in a brief altercation in a hallway outside one of the Berrien County Courtrooms before 45 year old Larry Darnell Gordon of Coloma grabbed several court employees as hostages. Gordon had reportedly jumped 41 year old Berrien County Sheriff's Deputy James Atterberry and shot him before taking the bailiff's lives in his attempt to head for freedom from the third floor of the Courthouse shortly after 2:30 this afternoon. Gordon was identified as a white male from Coloma. 

Atterberry has emerged this evening from surgery for wounds to his arm and is in intensive care. He has been with the department since 1998. Atterberry was leading Gordon from the Berrien County Jail holding cells to his arraignment proceedings, and Gordon was not hand-cuffed, taking advantage of the situation. Berrien County Sheriff Paul Bailey says not all inmates are handcuffed, especially those with no track record of threats or violent tendencies. He says his office may re-assess that policy going forward.

Joe Zangaro was Head of Security for the Berrien County Courthouse, and had been a Court Officer for a dozen years after retiring from a long run with the State Police. The 63-year old Kienzle had been a Court Officer for 11 years and was a veteran of the U.S. Army as well as his long tenure with the Benton Township Police Department.

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An unidentified woman, a citizen, was also hit by gunfire and is hospitalized in stable condition, but her name was being withheld by authorities at the 9pm press conference held by Sheriff Bailey.

At that session, Bailey again expressed deep sadness over the loss of two fellow veteran lawmen. He cited their solid reputation in law enforcement and their friendship of more than 40 years, "good guys whose lives were tragically ended today," in the attempted jail break at the four-story Berrien County Courthouse complex along the St. Joseph River in St. Joseph. 

When Gordon attempted to leave the hallway where he was holding several hostages by a separate doorway, he was quickly taken down by two other Berrien County Courthouse Officers, also bailiffs in the court system, and shot on site. The Sheriff did not immediately indicate what felony charges Gordon faced, saying only there were "numerous felony charges," and he had been through the court system on other occasions. 

Chief Berrien Trial Court Judge Gary Bruce ordered the Berrien County Courthouse to remain closed for the day tomorrow, Tuesday, July 12th…and you can see that order by clicking this link:

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder traveled to St. Joseph from Lansing today to show support for the community at large and the law enforcement community. He was joined by Benton Harbor Mayor Marcus Muhammad, St. Joseph Mayor Mike Garey, State Senator John Proos and State Representative Al Pscholkak at the 6pm press conference along with a phalanx of state troopers, deputies, police officers, court officials and others.

The incident has reverberated across the entire community and was picked up nationwide and for that matter globally by news sources around the world, especially in light of current tensions between police and citizens everywhere. 

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