A man who opened fire at an Arkansas courthouse Tuesday, injuring one person, was shot and killed by police, according to authorities and CNN affiliate KFSM.
James Ray Palmer, 48, was shot once in the torso and once in the head, and later died of his injuries in a Fort Smith, Arkansas, hospital, according to KFSM.
Police said Palmer was armed with three semi-automatic handguns and a semi-automatic rifle when he entered the Crawford County Courthouse in Van Buren, Arkansas, the station said. He was also wearing a tactical vest with webbing, enabling him to carry additional ammunition.
Authorities told KFSM that Palmer entered the office of Crawford County Division 1 Judge Gary Cottrell about 4:45 p.m. ET Tuesday. Cottrell is believed to have presided over a divorce and custody hearing involving Palmer, the station reported.
"As he entered the office, he demanded to see the judge," Sheriff Ron Brown told KFSM. "When they told him the judge wasn't in ... is when he started firing."
Palmer fired some 70 rounds, police said. But surveillance camera footage showed his gun malfunctioned several times, Brown told KFSM.
Cottrell's secretary sustained a non-life-threatening wound to the leg, KFSM said.
Officials were also investigating a fire at Palmer's home. Fort Smith police Sgt. Daniel Grubbs told KFSM that "timed incendiary devices" were found throughout the house.
There are no metal detectors at the courthouse, according to KFSM. An armed deputy is on duty while court is in session, but Cottrell did not have court on Tuesday, Brown said. Courthouse employees, however, did hit their "panic buttons" to summon authorities after seeing Palmer, the sheriff told the station.
Circuit Clerk Sharon Blount told the station when she heard the shots she knew immediately what they were. "I knew they were from a big, high-powered gun, so I immediately ran from my office, got my staff, told them to lock the doors down, get in the vault," she said. After a few minutes, someone from Cottrell's office began banging on the door, she said, screaming for help.
"We were all just so scared and screaming, and it was the most horrifying sound I've ever heard in my life," Dymonde Inthavong told KFSM.
Witnesses said Palmer continued firing outside the courthouse, even at nearby motorists, before being shot by police, the station said.
Police on Wednesday released 911 calls from the incident. "What's going on?" a dispatcher asks one caller. "Gunfire," the woman says.
In a second call, a dispatcher asks an emotional woman if she knows who has the gun. "I don't know ... I got shot in the leg," she says. She tells the dispatcher the gunman has gone outside. "You're doing fine," the man says. "Just work with me, OK?"
As she is transferred to EMS, the woman says, "Oh, my God."
Van Buren is about 150 miles northwest of Little Rock, near the Oklahoma state line.
