2 Killed 2 wounded in Court House Shooting

11 Feb, 2013

WILMINGTON, Del. — The father of a former optometrist who spent time in federal prison for bank fraud and kidnapping his three daughters likely is the gunman who opened fire Monday at the New Castle County Courthouse here, killing two women, numerous law-enforcement and legal authorities said.

Police declared the gunman dead at the scene and say one of the women killed was the mother of the children. The other woman was not identified.

In August 2007, David T. Matusiewicz, 45, kidnapped his three young daughters amid a custody dispute with ex-wife Christine Belford. He then took the girls on an 18-month odyssey to Panama, Costa Rica, Mexico and Nicaragua.

In the incident that began around 8 a.m. EST Monday, two Capitol Police officers also were shot when guards stopped the gunman at a checkpoint inside the front door before he was to pass through metal detectors, said Sgt. Paul Shavack of the Delaware State Police.

The wounded officers, ages 50 and 42, were treated at an area hospital and released; their bulletproof vests stopped the bullets, said Chief William H. Jopp of Delaware Capitol Police.

Officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter inside the courthouse lobby, Shavack said.

Police have not released the identity of the gunman, but sources now say that it was Matusiewicz’s father, Thomas Matusiewicz, 68, after initially saying the son was involved.

It was unclear whether Capitol Police killed the shooter or he took his own life, Shavack said. He had targeted at least one of his victims. David Matusiewicz’s whereabouts were not immediately known.

AP

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