Three people are dead following a shooting Friday at a courthouse in the southeastern U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia.
The judge who was hearing the rape case of 33-year-old Brian Nichols is among the dead. A court reporter and a sheriff's deputy were also killed. A second sheriff's deputy suffered a head wound and is listed in critical condition.
Brian Nichols reportedly grabbed a deputy's gun and opened fire during Friday's courtroom proceedings. Mr. Nichols then escaped and carjacked a vehicle. The Fulton County sheriff Myron Freeman, says authorities have launched a massive manhunt for Mr. Nichols, whom he described as armed and extremely dangerous.
This is the second judicial-related murder in recent weeks. A federal judge's mother and husband were killed in the U.S. city of Chicago in the midwestern U.S. state of Illinois last month. The suspect in that case committed suicide earlier this week