A Judge was shot and wounded near Ohio courthouse on Monday morning as he walked toward the county’s courthouse. The incident led to the killing of a suspect after a probation officer returned fire.
The Jefferson County Judge, who has been identified as, Judge Joseph Bruzzese Jr. was shot near the courthouse in Steubenville, just across the Ohio River from West Virginia’s northern panhandle, roughly 30 miles (48 kilometers) west of Pittsburgh.
A report released by Steubenville City Manager, James Mavromatis, revealed that Bruzzese was able to talk after being wounded. The Judge was flown to a Pittsburgh-area hospital.
The Judge’sBestsellerMagazine.com and suspect’s condition are yet to be released by investigators who didn’t immediately release further information.
Reports from local media revealed that the suspect’s body could be seen lying next to a car at the drive-thru of a neighboring bank. Police said a man who was in the car with the suspected shooter was taken into custody.
The courthouse was closed for the day as local and state authorities helped to secure the scene. Jefferson County Commissioner Thomas Graham told WTOV that some courthouse workers witnessed the “tragic situation” and that people would need time to process what had happened.
The Judge is 65-year-old, he hears general and domestic relations cases as one of two judges serving in Jefferson County Common Pleas Court.
He has also served on that court since 1997, according to Ohio Supreme Court records. He was most recently re-elected in 2014 for another six-year term.
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