A man who had climbed a wall near the White House earlier this year was shot and killed by a sheriff’s deputy Tuesday after cutting another deputy with a knife inside a Pennsylvania courthouse, authorities said.
The incident took place inside the Chester County Justice Center in West Chester, Pa., west of Philadelphia. A man named Curtis Smith of Coatesville, Pa., walked into the lobby of the courthouse, “pulled out a knife and attacked a deputy sheriff, slashing him,” Thomas Hogan, the Chester County district attorney, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Another deputy shot Smith, who was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead, Hogan said. The wounded deputy was taken to a hospital in stable condition, Hogan said, with injuries to his arm and hand. The deputy who shot Smith was being interviewed Tuesday afternoon.
After the gunshots rang out, the justice center was locked down and then closed for the remainder of the day.
Smith was one of three men who breached the secure area around the White House during one 16-hour window in March. As my colleague Peter Hermann reported at the time:
An arrest affidavit says that a man climbed over the top of a stone wall on E Street Northwest, at the southeast corner of the White House complex, about 1:45 p.m. on Sunday. The court documents say the man passed signs that read, “Restricted area. Do not enter,” and “Pass holders and appointments only.”
When officers approached the man, the affidavit says he “turned around presenting his hands behind his back for arrest.” The court documents say, “He left [his] home of origin and drove to [the] White House to pass a message to the president.” Curtis W. Smith, 33, of Coatesville, Pa., was charged with unlawful entry. He was released from custody pending a hearing March 25.
Tuesday’s episode in Pennsylvania is being investigated by Chester County detectives, Hogan said.
It was not immediately clear why Smith was at the courthouse. The West Chester police and Chester County officials did not respond to requests for comment about the incident Tuesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...nsylvania-courthouse-authorities-say/?hpid=z3
The incident took place inside the Chester County Justice Center in West Chester, Pa., west of Philadelphia. A man named Curtis Smith of Coatesville, Pa., walked into the lobby of the courthouse, “pulled out a knife and attacked a deputy sheriff, slashing him,” Thomas Hogan, the Chester County district attorney, said at a news conference Tuesday afternoon.
Another deputy shot Smith, who was taken to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead, Hogan said. The wounded deputy was taken to a hospital in stable condition, Hogan said, with injuries to his arm and hand. The deputy who shot Smith was being interviewed Tuesday afternoon.
After the gunshots rang out, the justice center was locked down and then closed for the remainder of the day.
Smith was one of three men who breached the secure area around the White House during one 16-hour window in March. As my colleague Peter Hermann reported at the time:
An arrest affidavit says that a man climbed over the top of a stone wall on E Street Northwest, at the southeast corner of the White House complex, about 1:45 p.m. on Sunday. The court documents say the man passed signs that read, “Restricted area. Do not enter,” and “Pass holders and appointments only.”
When officers approached the man, the affidavit says he “turned around presenting his hands behind his back for arrest.” The court documents say, “He left [his] home of origin and drove to [the] White House to pass a message to the president.” Curtis W. Smith, 33, of Coatesville, Pa., was charged with unlawful entry. He was released from custody pending a hearing March 25.
Tuesday’s episode in Pennsylvania is being investigated by Chester County detectives, Hogan said.
It was not immediately clear why Smith was at the courthouse. The West Chester police and Chester County officials did not respond to requests for comment about the incident Tuesday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/...nsylvania-courthouse-authorities-say/?hpid=z3
