US Attorney says gunman who shot AK-47 at courthouse had 'general dislike' of feds
A gunman who fired at AK-47 at a federal courthouse in West Virginia on Wednesday before being shot to death by responding security guards and police probably did not hold a grudge against any one individual there, although he presumably had a general dislike of government, the local U.S. Attorney said Thursday.
“I do not believe, in fact I’m confident in saying, he did not have a specific beef with anyone in particular in the federal building,” said Bill Ihlenfeld, the U.S. Attorney for West Virginia’s Northern District, in comments made on Thursday’s MetroNews Talkline. “He didn’t have a beef with me or anyone in my office or anyone else that works here.”
An investigation is continuing to try to determine what motivated Thomas Picard, 55, and other officials declined to comment while it is underway. Although Picard worked for the police in Wheeling, where the federal courthouse is located, he resigned from the department in 2000, and MetroNews said he had been living in Ohio.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Gunman fires AK-47 at federal courthouse, is shot to death”
