Tragic news took place in Virginia earlier this week, when a man identified as John Francis Wood entered the fourth floor offices of family law firm Maddox & Gerock and opened fire. He reportedly shot his gun several times before killing himself. No one else was injured.
Police responded to the incident as an active shooter, and evacuated the building the firm’s located in, which includes a preschool. According to the Washington Post, a witness heard Wood say he wasn’t going to hurt anyone besides himself:
James Pickford, 17, was in the building for his work with a catering company. He said he was exiting an elevator on the fourth floor when he saw a glass door to an office that appeared to have a bullet hole in it. A man was sitting with his back against the door.
Pickford said he heard the man, who appeared to be hurt, say: “I’m not a danger to anyone else. I’m a danger to myself.”
The office manager with Pickford told him to turn back. Pickford said he heard two shots and ran to tell others to get out.
A lawyer at Maddox & Gerock represents Wood’s ex-wife. The couple divorced in 2011, but post-trial proceedings had continued for several years. In May of this year, Wood was jailed for failure to pay alimony. According to reports, this placed a lot of stress on Wood:
“He really wanted to readjust the alimony payments because he couldn’t afford it anymore. He didn’t make money like he used to, but his ex-wife wouldn’t agree to it,” one neighbor told ABC7. “He even spent some time in jail because he couldn’t make the payments. He felt like she was trying to ruin his life.”
The firm made a statement regarding the incident on its Facebook page:
If you have seen the news tonight you will have some understanding of what our office endured this evening. We cannot comment further but all of our employees are safe and okay. Please hold us in your thoughts and prayers. Our office will be closed tomorrow. Thank you.
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As the WJLA report points out, that post sparked an online debate about the need for family law attorneys to be ready for active shooter scenarios and potential pitfalls with those plans:
One commenter responded, saying: “Everyone, seriously, have a security plan in place. Family law attorneys especially.”
To that point, an attorney from the firm said in reply: “I agree but when the person who enters has entered before without incidence, hard to protect against that. Thankfully everyone in the office took appropriate action but if things had been different, would not have helped. We are so very-very fortunate.”
To be sure, this was a terrifying incident for all involved. Our thoughts are with everyone impacted by the tragedy.
Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).