Chaos as cops hunt shooter
2005-03-12 09:58
Atlanta - A man being escorted into court for his rape trial on Friday stole a deputy's gun, killed the judge and two other people and carjacked a reporter's vehicle to escape, setting off a massive manhunt and creating widespread chaos across Atlanta, police said.
Hundreds of officers in cruisers and helicopters swarmed the area in the search of the suspect, identified as 33-year-old Brian Nichols. The suspect, a former computer technician, had raised alarm a day earlier when he was found in court with two handmade knives hidden in his shoes, prosecutors said.
The rampage led to chaos around the city, with schools, restaurants and office buildings locked down amid fears that the suspect might strike again.
Nichols got the semiautomatic pistol by overpowering the female deputy.
After shooting the deputy in the face, the suspect then went to the courtroom, held about a dozen people at bay for a short time and shot and killed Superior Court Judge Rowland Barnes and court stenographer Julie Brandau, authorities said.
Facing conviction
Another deputy was later killed outside the courthouse when he confronted the suspect, Dreher said.
Police said Nichols pistol-whipped a reporter and stole his car.
The shootings occurred a day after the judge and prosecutors had requested extra security for deputies following the discovery of the sharp objects in Nichols' shoes, prosecutor Gayle Abramson said. She said the objects were apparently fashioned by sharpening pieces of a door knob assembly.
Nichols' attorney, Barry M Hazen, told CNN that his client is a "very intelligent, articulate man" and never seemed violent. But he acknowledged the concern raised by the sharp objects found in his shoes.
"Judge Barnes indicated to us that he was going to have security in the courtroom beefed up for the remainder of the trial," said Hazen. "We were most concerned what reaction we would get if a jury were to convict him."
Nichols had been facing a re-trial on charges of rape, sodomy, burglary, and false imprisonment, among others, after his earlier trial ended in a hung jury a week ago.
"I think he probably realised ... he might be convicted this time, he might not have a chance to walk out," Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard said.
Nichols was accused of bursting into his ex-girlfriend's home, binding her with duct tape and sexually assaulting her over three days. Howard said Nichols brought a loaded machine gun into the home and a cooler with food in case he was hungry.
Nichols, who had been jailed for the last six months, had faced a possible life prison sentence if convicted for rape.
More than 100 state troopers and officers from several agencies, including the FBI, were assisting in the search.
James Bailey, a juror at Nichols' trial, said Nichols had made him and other jurors nervous. "Every time he looked up, he was staring at you," Bailey said.
- AP