Armed Assailant Is Shot, Killed After Courthouse Knife Attack

It’s almost Labor Day, but the summer of sadness for the legal profession is showing no signs of stopping. Thus far, we’ve seen several senseless murders, a slew of law firm bombings, and a law firm destroyed by a runaway bus. It’s been pretty terrible.

As of yesterday, we can add a fatal courthouse shooting in the wake of a knife attack to this parade of horribles.

Authorities say that Curtis Smith — perhaps better known to the public as the man who allegedly jumped the White House fence in March 2015 — bolted past the metal detectors at the Chester County Justice Center in West Chester, Pennsylvania, pulled out a knife, and began stabbing a courthouse deputy. Here’s more info from NBC Philadelphia:

Learning After Law School

Once you’ve got your law degree, how do you keep your professional skills up to date? Share your perspective in this brief survey, and you may be eligible to win a $250 gift card.

By Above the Law

Gunshots rang out inside the courthouse at 201 W Market St. in West Chester, Pennsylvania around 11: 50 a.m. Tuesday after an armed man charged past metal detectors leading to a lockdown of the building. …

Another deputy then opened fire, striking Smith, said [District Attorney Tom] Hogan. Smith, 34, received first aid at the scene before being taken to Paoli Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead.

A uniformed man with a bandaged hand could be seen on a stretcher being loaded into an ambulance. Hogan said that sheriff’s deputy was treated for wounds to his arm and hand.

Smith was to face burglary, assault, and harassment charges in October, which stemmed from a domestic violence arrest in May. Per Smith’s lawyer, Lewis Hannah III, his client was at the courthouse to obtain counseling prior to his next appearance.

Hannah, who represented Smith in the domestic violence case, called his client’s death “really tragic.”

“He was a truck driver,” Hannah said. “He worked every day, had a family, a wife, you know, you would have never have thought.”

According to WPVI, no motive has been established for Curtis Smith’s courthouse attack.